GALUSHA  A.  GROW 


GALUSHA  A.   GROW 


From  the  portrait  presented  to  Congress  by  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
and  hanging  in  the  Speaker's  room  in  the  Capitol 


GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

FATHER  OP  THE  HOMESTEAD  LAW 


BY 

JAMES  T.  DuBOIS 

AND 

GERTRUDE  S.  MATHEWS 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

re&  gambtibge 
1917 


COPYRIGHT,   1917,   BY  JAMES  T.    DUBOIS 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 

Published  March  KM 


"  That  country  is  greatest  and  most  glorious  in  which 
there  is  the  greatest  number  of  happy  firesides." 


To  Andrew  Carnegie's  peculiarly  dis 
criminating  appreciation  of  the  worth 
of  Mr.  Grow  and  his  work,  a  feeling  he 
most  generously  demonstrated,  is  due 
much  of  the  stimulus  which  led  to  the 
writing  of  this  volume.  When  Mr.  Grow 
planned  his  autobiography,  undertaken 
too  late  to  finish,  he  wrote: 

THIS  VOLUME  IS  DEDICATED 

TO 
ANDREW  CARNEGIE 

Whose  business  life  illustrates  what  a  boy 
of  good  habits,  without  money  or  personal 
influence,  can  accomplish  in  industrial  pur 
suits  under  our  free  institutions;  and  whose 
ideal  of  life  is  the  highest  and  best,  that  the 
possessors  of  great  wealth  ought  in  their  life 
time  to  contribute  most  of  it  to  the  welfare  of 
mankind  and  beneficent  public  objects. 

GALUSHA  A.  GROW 


FOREWORD 

THE  definition  of  history  as  the  biography  of 
great  men  holds  good  in  the  land  movement  of 
the  United  States  as  elsewhere.  Galusha  A. 
Grow,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  Lincoln's  time,  true  statesman,  patriot  in 
so  large  a  sense  that  to-day  we  are  reaping  a 
harvest  which  he  helped  to  sow  and  largely 
cultivated,  did  human,  historical  work  which 
should  make  him  proportionately  honored. 

To  his  foresight  and  persistence  we  owe,  in 
great  part,  the  settlement  of  the  Far  West 
with  genuine  homes,  the  peopling  of  vast 
tracts  with  earnest  homesteaders  who  could 
give  that  invaluable  element,  personal  interest, 
to  the  task  of  breaking  open  the  continent, 
and  the  retention  to  such  people  of  a  consider 
able  part  of  the  domain  which,  in  1850,  was  in 
so  large  a  measure  not  only  new  possession  but 
entirely  unassimilated. 

Having  followed  the  politico-geographical 
principle  that  young  countries  know  no  ex 
clusion  from  the  sea,1  the  United  States  had 

1  Ratzel,  Politische  Geographic  der  Vereiningien  titaaten. 


viii  FOREWORD 

pushed  forward  to  dominion  on  the  Pacific, 
completing  a  monumental  expansion  of  our 
territory.  Finding  ourselves  in  possession  of  a 
folk-land  of  fabulous  extent,  the  pressure  for 
the  formulation  of  some  adequate  land  policy 
by  which  to  assure  to  the  nation  its  proper 
development  had  become  active.  There  was 
imminent  danger  of  monopoly,  of  disastrously 
lavish  gift  to  railroads  and  other  utilities, 
upon  whose  pleasure  the  country  must  then 
wait  for  a  programme  which  would  reasonably 
develop  it  without  independent  chance  for 
the  common  man.  Involved  in  the  question 
of  settlement,  moreover,  was  the  momentous 
issue  whether  the  territory  should  be  slave  or 
free. 

At  this  epoch,  before  the  matter  had  become 
a  party  issue,  Grow  entered  the  arena  of  Con 
gress,  its  youngest  member.  Land  bills  there 
had  been  in  plenty,  but  ideas  on  the  matter 
were  conflicting  and  by  no  means  clear  and 
broad  in  principle.  The  free-grants  plan  had 
been  launched  on  its  course,  but,  while  its 
prominent  advocates  in  Congress  had  pre 
sented  the  idea  in  various  ways,  no  plan  was 
entirely  compelling  and  all  of  them  sharply 
controversial  because  of  the  half-developed 


FOREWORD  ix 

status  of  the  Union  and  the  more  or  less  tenta 
tive  condition  of  federal  authority. 
\.  With  an  appreciation  of  the  value  of  any 
man  to  the  soil,  with  an  instinctive  feeling  for 
the  rights  of  man,  and  with  the  vision  of  su 
perb  empire  compelling  him,  Grow  took  up  the 
practical  task  of  laying  a  comprehensive,  stable 
foundation  for  a  continental  national  life;  and 
once  assumed  he  never  laid  it  down. 

To  the  land  he  wished  to  secure  the  people. 
To  invite  them,  inducement  and  protection 
were  necessary.  Legislation  must  be  formu 
lated  which  would  prove  a  good  investment 
alike  for  the  nation  and  the  individual.  To 
that  policy,  for  which  he  made  a  long  and  diffi 
cult  fight  extending  over  ten  years'  time,  cul 
minating  in  the  successful  passage  of  the 
Homestead  Act  in  1862  while  he  was  Speaker, 
the  nation  owes  much  of  its  present  stability. 

A  great  labor,  bearing  the  indelible  imprint 
of  the  best  spirit  of  our  American  times  —  the 
people  of  the  country  have  not  begun  to  realize 
how  large  a  debt  they  owe  to  Galusha  A.  Grow 
for  the  basis  of  the  successful  development  of  a 
very  great  portion  of  our  national  estate.  Ob 
scured  in  the  period  of  its  accomplishment  by 
an  excitement  so  painful  to  us  as  a  people  that 


x  FOREWORD 

other  national  policies  than  those  most  obvi 
ously  connected  with  the  Civil  War  were  com 
paratively  little  heeded,  it  is  important  that 
new  light  be  thrown  upon  the  source  of  inspi 
ration  which  lies  in  this  conscientious,  effec 
tive,  and  far-reaching  labor.  Because  of  the 
aid  that  this  legislation  has  afforded  to  one 
of  the  greatest  migrations  that  the  world  has 
seen,  because  of  the  direct  connection  between 
the  land  and  our  present  prosperity,  and  be 
cause  of  the  worth  of  the  man  who  was  so 
ready  to  give  himself  as  the  instrument  of  ac 
complishment,  Galusha  Grow's  life,  set  in  key 
with  the  most  throbbing  strains  of  our  most 
dramatic  period,  is  vital  to  America. 

"The  true  patriot,"  says  Henry  van  Dyke, 
"is  he  who  is  as  willing  to  sacrifice  time  and 
strength  and  property  to  remove  political 
shame  and  reform  political  corruption,  as  he 
who  would  be  ready  to  answer  the  call  of  battle 
against  a  foreign  foe.  The  true  patriot  is  he 
who  works  and  votes  with  the  same  courage 
he  would  show  in  arms,  in  order  that  the  aspi 
rations  of  a  noble  people  may  be  embodied  in 
the  noblest  rulers." 

To  make  the  great  unoccupied  commons 
of  America  a  true  free  folk-land,  to  introduce 


FOREWORD  xi 

honest  settlement  on  the  heels  of  disastrous 
speculation  and  ineffective  preemption,  Grow 
steadily  gave  himself  with  courage  and  persist 
ence  to  a  discouraging  civil,  economic  task.  In 
pursuance  of  the  work  which  had  fallen  on  his 
shoulders,  he  came  into  intimate  contact  with 
some  of  the  greatest  Americans  of  the  climac 
teric  period  of  our  history. 

In  the  following  account  we  have  endeavored 
to  preserve,  so  far  as  possible,  the  direct  per 
sonal  style  with  which  Mr.  Grow  narrated  the 
incidents  of  his  life,  many  of  them  told  in  the 
sunset  years  as  he  rested  in  his  wicker  chair  on 
the  great  veranda  of  his  home  in  Glenwood, 
Pennsylvania,  or  while  reclining  on  the  old- 
fashioned  sofa  in  his  room.  He  left  behind  him 
manuscripts  and  memoranda,  notes  biograph 
ical  and  historical,  fugitive  articles  and  frag 
ments,  which  contain  incontrovertible  proof  of 
lofty  feeling  and  a  simple  ruggedness  of  char 
acter  which  should  make  his  patriotic  story 
suggestive,  since  they  give  direct  testimony  to 
the  rise  of  a  man  who  consistently  followed 
the  primeval  impulse  within  him  to  its  great 
ends  of  broad  human  benefit. 


CONTENTS 

I.  EARLY  YOUTH 1 

II.  EDUCATION  AND  FORMULATING  PURPOSES     .      .  28 

III.  THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND 43 

IV.  MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL  AND  MEN'S  RIGHTS  70 
V.  NEW  RELATIONSHIPS 91 

VI.  THE  DOMAIN  AS  A  SOCIAL  QUESTION     .      .      .  102 

VII.  THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND 120 

Vin.  THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE     .  134 

IX.  RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL 146 

X.  KANSAS:  AND  KEITT  vs.  GROW 163 

XI.  ORGANIZING  THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER    .      .      .183^ 
XII.  A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN  PASSES      .      .      .      .204 

XIII.  MEN  AND  MEASURES 229 

XIV.  THE  SPEAKERSHIP 246 

XV.  RIPE  YEARS  AND  A  RETURN  TO  ACTION      .      .  271 

INDEX  297 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

GALUSHA  A.  GROW Frontispiece 

From  the  portrait  presented  to  Congress  by  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania  and  hanging  in  the  Speaker's  room  in  the 
Capitol. 

THE  GROW  HOMESTEAD  AT  GLENWOOD,  PENNSYLVANIA    12 

DANIEL  FREEMAN  OF  NEBRASKA,  THE  FIRST  HOME 
STEADER  .50 

THE  FIRST  HOMESTEAD  PATENT 98 

DANIEL  FREEMAN,  THE  FIRST  HOMESTEADER,  AND  GALU 
SHA  A.  GROW,  FATHER  OF  THE  HOMESTEAD  LAW,  AT 
THE  GROW  WELCOME  HOME  IN  MONTROSE,  PENNSYL 
VANIA  146 

THE  GROW  WELCOME  HOME  AT  MONTROSE,  PENNSYL 
VANIA  194 

MR.  GROW  READING  HIS  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  ON  HIS  VERANDA 

AT  GLENWOOD 242 

MR.  GROW  AT  EIGHTY-THREE,  ON  HIS  VERANDA  AT  GLEN 
WOOD  288 


GALTJSHA  A.  GKOW 


CHAPTER   I 

EARLY   YOUTH 

THE  event  of  birth  is  all  too  frequently  insig 
nificant.  A  pleasure  to  record  where  it  is  em 
phatically  to  the  contrary,  it  must  be  set  down 
that  a  son  was  born  August  31,  1823,  in 
Ashford,  Windham  County,  Connecticut,  to 
Joseph  and  Elizabeth  Grow,  great-great 
grandchildren  of  that  Grow,  of  Ipswich,  Mas 
sachusetts,  who  in  the  sixteen  hundreds  was 
one  of  the  "commoners"  of  the  town. 

About  the  time  of  the  baby's  christening  an 
aunt  who  lived  in  Vermont  was  visiting  his 
mother.  The  Christian  name  of  her  husband 
was  Aaron.  She  was  an  admirer  of  Governor 
Galusha,  of  Vermont,  and  asked  permission 
to  name  the  child  "Aaron  Galusha,"  which 
was  granted,  and  his  weighty  nomenclature 
was  so  recorded  in  the  family  Bible.  The  name 
of  their  nearest  neighbor  was  also  Aaron,  how 
ever,  and  fearing  that  it  might  be  thought  that 


2  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  boy  took  his  name  from  him,  the  family 
began  calling  him  "Galusha."  When  he  be 
came  ten  years  old  it  was  sometimes  necessary 
to  write  his  name,  and  as  it  did  not  please 
them  as  "A.  Galusha  Grow,"  that  being  in 
their  estimation  hardly  definite  enough  to 
designate  any  particular  person,  he  began 
writing  it  "Galusha  A.  Grow"  and  continued 
it  ever  after. 

When  he  was  a  little  over  four  years  old,  his 
father  died,  leaving  his  mother  with  six  chil 
dren  and  property  hardly  sufficient  to  pay  the 
debts.  Of  the  children  Julia  was  the  eldest, 
being  fifteen;  then  came  Edwin,  Frederick, 
Samuel,  Galusha,  and  Elizabeth,  who  was  only 
eighteen  months  old.  Samuel  went  to  live 
with  "Uncle  Thomas  Grow"  in  Hampton. 
Galusha  went  with  his  uncle,  Kinney  Gallup, 
to  his  grandfather,  Captain  Samuel  Robbins, 
in  Voluntown,  who  was  a  soldier  in  the  Conti 
nental  Army  and  was  among  the  first  volun 
teers  who  went  from  Connecticut  to  Boston 
after  the  battle  of  Lexington. 

His  mother  spent  a  few  months  in  settling 
up  her  business  affairs  in  Ashford  and  then 
went  with  the  rest  of  her  children  to  her  fa 
ther,  Captain  Robbins,  where  they  spent  seven 


EARLY  YOUTH  3 

years.  Edwin  and  Frederick  worked  on  the 
farm  doing  heavy  labor,  while  Galusha  was 
general  chore-boy,  milking  the  cows  and  caring 
for  the  horses.  At  times  he  drove  the  oxen  for 
Edwin  to  plough,  rode  the  horse  bareback  in 
cultivating  corn  and  potatoes,  and  attended 
school  in  winter. 

The  hotel  at  Voluntown  was  kept  by  Cap 
tain  Robbins,  and  during  his  life  and  many 
years  after  it  was  the  place  for  transacting  all 
township  business,  the  elections  and  meetings 
of  the  selectmen  who  had  charge  of  town 
affairs  being  held  there.  The  annual  drill  of 
the  militia  company  of  the  township  took 
place  on  a  large  meadow  near  the  hotel,  and 
the  great  day  of  the  year  for  small  boys  and 
grown  men  was  "Training-Day."  Probably 
it  was  in  this  place  that  Galusha  came  to  hear 
many  tales  of  the  Liberty  Pole  times  of  our 
forefathers,  and  the  fact  that  he  remembered 
them  all  his  life  makes  the  assumption  war 
rantable  that  they  must  have  instilled  into  his 
blood  some  especial  interest  in  the  idea  of  free 
dom,  of  revolt  on  principle,  and  of  love  for 
political  action. 

Early  in  the  Revolutionary  War  Liberty 
Poles  were  first  used,  and  closely  following  it 


4  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

became  the  fashion  of  every  village  to  have 
a  "Pole-Raising"  or  "Training-Day."  These 
events  were  popular  with  the  farmers  who 
came  to  such  centers  as  Voluntown,  driving 
for  miles  from  all  directions  and  in  all  kinds  of 
vehicles  from  logging- wagons  to  Revolutionary 
coaches.  More  than  one  of  the  men  gathered 
at  Galusha's  grandfather's  inn  remembered  all 
the  excitement  of  the  origin  of  these  poles, 
when  "Citizen  Genet,"  Minister  from  France 
to  our  country,  tried  to  fit  out  privateers  from 
our  ports  and  enlist  men  for  expeditions 
against  the  Spanish  territory.  In  America  the 
Republicans,  who  were  the  American  partisans 
of  France,  sympathized  with  his  movements. 
When  President  Washington  issued  a  procla 
mation  in  1793  declaring  the  neutrality  of  the 
United  States,  more  sympathy  for  Genet's 
schemes  was  aroused,  and  Democratic  Clubs 
set  up  Liberty  Poles  surmounted  by  flags  bear 
ing  various  inscriptions  favorable  to  France. 

To  this  tradition  of  that  Training-Day 
which  was  so  great  a  feature  of  Galusha's  boy 
hood  was  added  that  of  the  revolt  in  west 
ern  Pennsylvania  against  the  excise  law,  when 
the  red  "Anarchy"  or  "Sedition  Poles"  were 
the  distinctive  emblems  of  a  disturbance 


EARLY  YOUTH  5 

which  had  to  be  suppressed  by  armed  force  of 
the  Government.  The  fad,  dying  out  about 
1800,  sprang  to  life  again  when  the  British 
lion  began  to  growl.  Later  on,  when  Whigs 
and  Democrats  were  in  the  midst  of  their  bit 
terest  contests,  each  party  vied  with  the  other 
in  raising  poles  at  their  political  meetings,  and 
they  were  considered  quite  as  essential  to  the 
success  of  the  day  as  the  speech-making.  The 
party  loyalty  of  a  community  came  to  be 
measured  by  the  height  of  the  pole.  Very  often 
sailors  were  brought  from  port  towns  far  into 
the  interior  to  help  in  "riggin5"  the  poles  after 
they  were  raised.  These  jolly  tars  in  their  sea 
men's  uniform  were  half  the  show,  and  they 
were  lionized  and  bountifully  entertained  with 
applejack  and  pumpkin  pie,  and  not  infre 
quently  with  free  whiskey  and  a  free  fight. 

The  masses  of  both  parties  had  come  to 
regard  the  emblem  itself  with  a  sort  of  super 
stitious  awe,  and  to  children  like  Galusha  such 
superstition  made  of  the  Liberty  Pole  a  mystic 
shrine.  If  these  poles  were  such  a  rage  that  a 
mass  meeting  without  one  was  to  grown-ups 
like  a  schooner  without  a  sail,  imagine  the 
scorn  of  a  small  boy  who  venerated  his  Liberty 
Pole  as  an  Indian  his  totem!  No  political 


6  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

demonstration  in  any  era  could  have  been 
finer  to  any  small  boy,  and  Galusha  was  a  real 
boy. 

The  accompanying  campaign  disease  known 
as  the  "campaign  ditty  "  had  its  own  delights, 
but  it  was  by  no  means  so  compelling.  Still, 
from  the  old  men  who  congregated  in  the  hotel 
and  "reminisced,"  Galusha  absorbed  many 
an  ancient  verse.  First  used  in  Washington's 
campaign  they  had  at  this  time  none  of  the 
wit  and  bitterness  which  afterwards  charac 
terized  them.  The  rancor  of  party  feeling  did 
not  develop  until  almost  1800,  and  it  was 
then  that  bitter  partisanship  began  to  express 
itself  in  political  songs.  One,  dating  from  Jef 
ferson's  campaign  against  Adams,  ran :  — 

"  The  Federalists  are  down  at  last, 
The  Monarchists  completely  cast, 
The  aristocrats  are  stript  of  power, 
Storms  o'er  the  British  faction  lower. 
Soon  we  Republicans  shall  see 
Columbia's  sons  from  bondage  free. 
Lord!  How  the  Federalists  will  stare 
At  Jefferson  in  Adams'  chair!" 

Perhaps  Mrs.  Grow  feared  the  influence  of 
the  inn  for  her  children;  certainly  Galusha  was 
"taking  in"  a  good  deal  for  his  age.  For  vari 
ous  reasons  in  the  winter  of  1833-34,  she  con- 


EARLY  YOUTH  7 

eluded  that  it  would  be  better  for  them  to  go 
West  and  grow  up  with  the  country.  Orrin  S. 
Kinney,  who  married  Galusha's  sister  Julia, 
had  the  winter  before  gone  out  to  eastern 
Pennsylvania  to  found  a  home.  He  bought  a 
tract  covered  with  heavy  timber  in  Greenfield, 
about  four  miles  from  Carbondale,  and  began 
cutting  a  fallow  of  five  acres,  expecting  his 
wife  to  join  him  in  the  spring.  When  Mrs. 
Grow  consulted  her  father  about  going  West 
he  agreed  that  before  she  departed  she  should 
receive  the  portion  of  the  property  which  he 
had  allotted  to  her  in  his  will. 

The  same  winter  Charles  Barstow  and 
Samuel  Newton,  who  were  living  near  Volun- 
town,  went  to  northern  Pennsylvania,  or  "up- 
country"  as  it  was  then  called,  to  establish 
new  homes.  Barstow  bought  the  Crystal  Lake 
Hotel  property,  about  two  miles  from  Dundaff 
in  Susquehanna  County,  and  Newton  pur 
chased  a  farm  on  the  Milford  and  Owego 
Turnpike,  three  miles  out  of  Montrose,  and 
were  to  take  possession  the  next  spring.  On 
their  return  to  Connecticut  they  chartered  a 
sailing  vessel  on  Long  Island  Sound  engaged 
in  trade  between  New  London  and  New  York, 
to  take  their  families  to  Rondout  on  the 


8  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Hudson  River  as  soon  as  the  Delaware  and 
Hudson  Canal  was  open. 

Hearing  that  Mrs.  Grow  was  going  to  move 
"up-country,"  they  came  to  Voluntown  to  see 
if  it  would  suit  her  to  go  on  the  sailing  vessel 
they  had  chartered.  She  accepted  the  offer, 
and  the  last  of  April,  1834,  the  three  families 
gathered  together  their  household  effects,  put 
them  aboard  the  little  ship  Mystic,  nearly 
opposite  New  London,  and  commenced  their 
journey  through  Long  Island  Sound.  Mrs. 
Grow  took  with  her  Julia,  Edwin,  Elizabeth, 
and  Galusha,  and  after  five  days,  having 
stopped  in  New  York  one  day  to  make  some 
purchases,  the  Mystic  arrived  at  Rondout. 
There  everything  was  transferred  to  a  flatboat 
on  the  Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal,  the  first 
one  to  make  the  spring  trip  to  Honesdale,  in 
Wayne  County,  Pennsylvania,  which  was  the 
end  of  their  water  route.  They  were  detained 
one  day  at  Port  Jervis  by  a  break  in  the  canal, 
and  it  took  them  five  days  to  reach  Honesdale, 
where  their  goods  were  transferred  to  wagons 
drawn  by  two-horse  teams. 

Then  the  journey  overland  was  begun.  One 
can  see  the  small  boy  of  ten,  his  ardent  im 
agination  all  astir,  facing  the  great,  wide 


EARLY  YOUTH  9 

mysterious  West  which  stretched  before  them 
in  interminable  reaches,  full  of  unexplored 
wild  resources.  The  excitement  of  an  adven 
ture  journey  of  magnitude  into  that  moun 
tainous  country  which,  although  pioneered 
long  before,  from  its  obstinacy  to  subjugation 
had  still  the  character  of  real  wilderness,  must, 
to  judge  by  later  developments,  have  tran 
scended  all  ordinary,  childish  excitement  and 
touched  that  Great  Wonder,  the  experience  of 
which  is  so  valuable  an  asset  to  any  human 
life. 

By  sea  four  days,  a  twenty-four  hour  space 
in  that  New  York  whose  remote  edge  was 
Twenty-third  Street,  a  canal-boat  journey 
which  meant  slow,  dreamy  days  in  a  unique 
environment  on  a  placid  water,  and  then  the 
beginning  of  a  caravan  movement,  painful 
and  snail-like,  toward  that  corner  of  the  globe 
where  the  Creator,  when  He  made  the  earth, 
seems  to  have  dumped  the  leavings  in  a  pic 
turesque  manner  —  this  was  such  a  romance 
as  one  remembers  throughout  one's  journey 
down  the  life-path. 

"A  mover  up-country ! "  -  the  phrase  must 
have  been  magic  to  a  small  boy.  With  nomadic 
instinct  keenly  alive  as  he  bumped  along  the 


10  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

uneven  roads  to  the  new  country  in  whose 
vague  area  they  were  to  find  themselves  a 
home,  he  could  not  escape  the  lure  of  migra 
tion.  Such  experiences  leave  deep  roots  in 
the  sensitive,  romantic  minds  of  children. 
Galusha  was  part  of  a  greater  movement  than 
he  could  possibly  know,  a  migration  which 
had  in  it  sweeping,  elemental  forces.  Prob 
ably  conscious  only  of  the  keenest  interest 
in  the  adventurous  advance  of  his  own  people 
inland,  in  the  natural  resources,  he  really  re 
ceived  on  this  pilgrimage  a  motif  for  a  life- 
work  which  tied  him  even  thus  early  to  a 
Cause.  It  was  given  to  him  to  perceive  the 
glamour  of  the  new  land  and  the  inherent 
hardship  of  its  conquest  at  that  period  when 
youth  moves  mountains  by  a  wave  of  the  hand, 
seeing  its  high  vision  with  the  clarity  of  reality. 
The  mother,  whose  resolution  and  vigor, 
whose  good  sense  and  ability  took  her  out  to 
battle  with  the  primitive  for  the  good  of  her 
children,  inspired  by  that  touch  of  altruism 
which  often  makes  the  ordinary  homestead 
so  poignantly  appealing,  demonstrated  her 
brave  nobility.  Alone  in  her  responsibility, 
even  the  pilgrimage  must  have  been  an  appall 
ing  task,  and  with  the  handicap  of  limited 


EARLY  YOUTH  11 

resources  the  establishment  of  a  new  home 
demanded  fortitude,  efficiency,  and  courage 
of  the  highest  order.  When  she  came  to  the 
enchanting  Tunkhannock  Valley,  the  settlers 
were  building  log  huts  out  of  the  tall  pine 
and  hemlock  trees  which  surrounded  them  on 
all  sides.  Trails,  often  only  blazed  ones,  struck 
through  the  dense  and  far-reaching  woodland 
to  the  gristmill,  the  post-office,  and  the  black 
smith  shop.  Usually  in  such  settlements  was 
found  a  small  store  containing  general  mer 
chandise. 

Mr.  Barstow  went  to  his  purchase  at  Crys 
tal  Lake.  Mr.  Newton  took  his  family  to  his 
farm  near  Montrose.  "Sister  Julia"  and  her 
husband  went  to  Greenfield.  Mrs.  Grow, 
having  no  abiding-place,  deposited  her  belong 
ings  in  the  barn  of  Ephraim  Johnson,  who 
lived  on  a  farm  midway  between  Crystal  Lake 
and  Dundaff.  Mr.  Johnson  had  been  her 
neighbor  in  Connecticut,  and  at  his  invitation 
they  remained  in  his  house  while  his  son  drove 
Edwin  Grow  around  the  country  to  procure 
a  suitable  homestead. 

After  driving  for  three  days,  a  farm  of  four 
hundred  acres  was  purchased  of  Solomon 
Millard  for  twelve  hundred  dollars,  in  the 


12  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

valley  of  the  Tunkhannock  Creek  at  a  hamlet 
called  Glen  wood,  located  about  sixteen  miles 
from  the  junction  of  the  creek  with  the  Sus- 
quehanna  and  four  miles  from  the  post-office. 
The  nearest  store  was  at  Dundaff,  eight  miles 
away. 

Edwin  and  Galusha  were  the  farmers.  The 
only  stock  they  had  on  the  farm  that  summer 
was  one  cow  and  a  yoke  of  oxen.  They  sowed 
a  field  of  oats  and  planted  some  corn  and  po 
tatoes,  borrowing  a  plough  and  harrow  from 
their  neighbor,  William  Hartley.  One  day,  as 
Galusha  went  to  get  the  plough  for  the  third 
time,  Mr.  Hartley  said,  "I  will  lend  you  any 
thing  on  my  farm  this  season,  but  next  year 
I  will  neither  borrow  nor  lend ! "  They  heeded 
this  warning  with  care. 

In  that  year1  the  wild  pigeons  nested  on 
Elk  Mountain,  the  highest  elevation  in  north 
eastern  Pennsylvania,  and  they  were  very 
destructive  to  the  fields  of  oats  and  corn  for  a 
radius  of  twenty  miles.  In  the  day  they  passed 
from  their  mountain  roost  to  their  feeding- 
grounds  like  a  dark  cloud  covering  the  sun. 
At  night  the  farmers  for  miles  around  drove 
to  the  roosting-place  and  with  long  poles 

1  Mrs.  Blackman,  History  of  Susquehanna  County. 


EARLY  YOUTH  13 

struck  down  thousands  of  pigeons,  and  carry 
ing  wagonloads  home,  salted  them  for  winter 
use.  The  "Volunteer,"  a  newspaper  published 
at  Montrose,  referring  to  the  great  pigeon 
invasion,  said:  "They  occupied  a  district  nine 
miles  long  and  two  miles  wide,  every  tree  and 
branch  of  which  was  crowded  with  pigeons, 
and  while  these  pests  feasted  on  the  farmers' 
fields  the  farmers  returned  the  compliment  by 
feasting  on  them." 

During  that  same  summer  and  autumn  they 
practically  destroyed  all  the  grain  crops  in 
the  region  surrounding  Elk  Mountain  except 
where  the  farmers  were  vigilant  in  protecting 
their  fields.  Galusha's  mother  assigned  him 
to  a  post  upon  the  ridge  of  a  barn  shed  which 
stood  in  the  cornfield,  and  his  business  was 
to  sing  songs,  giving  loud  cat-calls  or  Indian 
whoops,  and  rattling  sticks  on  the  shingles  to 
scare  away  the  hungry  winged  robbers  and 
prevent  them  from  lighting  in  the  fields.  He 
held  this  post  from  the  time  the  corn  was 
planted  until  it  was  harvested,  and  he  was 
always  at  his  station  from  daylight  until  dark. 
A  constant  guard  was  necessary,  as  in  a  few 
hours'  time  a  swarm  of  pigeons,  if  undisturbed, 
would  destroy  a  good-sized  field  of  grain. 


14  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

The  winters  of  1834-37  Galusha  went  to 
the  district  school  about  a  mile  distant,  and 
he  always  after  mentioned  vith  particular 
pleasure  the  spelling-bees  in  which  not  only 
the  scholars  but  parents  were  participants. 
These  contests  called  for  "choosing  sides," 
and  the  people  from  the  various  school  dis 
tricts  would  gather  at  the  log  school  and  fight 
out  their  battles  in  words.  In  this  old  building 
Galusha  first  took  part  in  debate. 

"I  often  prepared  myself,  while  walking 
over  a  mile  twice  a  day  to  fodder  the  cattle," 
he  notes,  "to  argue  whether  the  hen  that 
hatched  or  the  hen  that  laid  the  egg  was  the 
mother  of  the  chick,"  and  subjects  of  like 
importance.  Sometimes  the  question  debated 
was  of  a  political  character,  and  in  these  con 
tests  he  became  deeply  interested.  The  ques 
tions  to  be  discussed  were  announced  by  the 
teachers  a  week  ahead,  and  it  was  there  he 
learned  the  art  of  "talking  on  his  feet." 

In  August,  1834,  Frederick,  who  had  been 
left  at  Voluntown  to  close  up  business  and 
dispose,  so  far  as  possible,  of  the  land  Captain 
Robbins  had  conveyed  to  his  mother,  came 
to  Glen  wood,  and  soon  thereafter  Mrs.  Grow, 
having  decided  that  there  was  a  good  opening, 


EARLY  YOUTH  15 

set  apart  one  room  in  the  farmhouse  for  a 
general  store.  Business  flourishing,  a  building 
of  three  rooms  was  erected  the  following  spring 
to  accommodate  the  increasing  trade.  Fred 
erick  took  charge  of  the  store  and  made 
Galusha  clerk.  They  traded  groceries  and 
cotton  goods  for  butter,  bark,  and  hides,  and, 
the  business  prospering,  branched  out  into 
"lumbering"  as  it  was  called  in  those  days. 
They  handled  a  large  amount  of  "sawed  lum 
ber"  which  they  floated  down  the  Tunk- 
hannock  to  the  markets  scattered  along  the 
Susquehanna  River. 

At  fourteen  years  of  age  Galusha  took  his 
first  trip  down  the  river  to  Columbia.  It  took 
about  five  days  to  make  it,  and  all  through 
the  journey  they  lived  in  a  rough  cabin  on  the 
rafts  and  slept  in  straw  bunks,  cooking  their 
own  meals  and  doing  the  "housework"  them 
selves,  as  no  women  were  on  board.  At  Mari 
etta  the  up-river  pilots  and  most  of  the  men 
returned  home  and  new  pilots  and  crews  ran 
the  raft  on  to  Port  Deposit. 

Galusha  made  several  of  these  trips  with 
Frederick  as  far  as  Marietta  and  Columbia, 
but  did  not  go  "all  the  way  through  ':  -  so 
they  spoke  of  going  to  Port  Deposit  —  until 


16  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  spring  freshet  of  1837.  Then,  with  Fred 
erick,  he  made  the  long  journey  clear  to  the 
Port,  which  was  at  the  head  of  navigation 
on  Chesapeake  Bay,  where  lumber  merchants 
from  Baltimore  and  Philadelphia  came  to 
purchase  supplies  for  their  customers.  At  that 
time  Port  Deposit  was  the  center  of  distribu 
tion  of  all  lumber  that  came  down  the  Sus- 
quehanna  River  and  was  a  very  interesting 
and  busy  place.  Galusha  enjoyed  his  sojourn 
there  in  full  measure.  All  these  practical  ex 
periences,  while  stimulating  to  the  imagina 
tion,  helped  to  transmute  fancy  to  definite 
utilitarian  power. 

The  panic  of  1837,  the  year  Martin  Van 
Buren  assumed  the  Presidency,  caused  a  severe 
depression  in  business,  and  the  lumber  business 
being  dull,  lumbermen  became  impatient  and 
sacrificed  their  stock  at  low  prices.  Two  men, 
Horace  G.  Phelps,  uncle  of  William  Walter 
Phelps,  who  lived  in  Dundaff,  Pennsylvania, 
and  Benajah  Bailey,  of  Painted  Post,  New 
York,  were  largely  engaged  in  lumbering  on 
the  Tioga  Branch  of  the  Susquehanna  near 
Corning,  New  York,  and  had  a  big  stock  of 
pine  and  hemlock  at  Port  Deposit.  When 
Frederick  and  Galusha  reached  that  place  with 


EARLY  YOUTH  17 

their  raft,  Mr.  Bailey  asked  Frederick  to  let 
Galusha  take  charge  of  a  vessel  loaded  with 
lumber  and  go  down  the  Bay  and  find  as  good 
a  market  for  it  as  he  could.  Frederick  told 
him  that  Bailey  wanted  him  to  go  and  sell 
the  lumber.  Galusha  demanded,  "Go  where?  " 

Frederick  replied,  "Go  until  you  sell  it,  if 
you  have  to  go  to  Norfolk  or  Richmond, 
and  then  meet  me  in  Baltimore  with  the 
cash." 

Galusha  accepted  the  proposition  "so  quick 
it  made  Frederick  stare,  as  he  thought  it  was 
too  big  a  task  for  a  boy  of  fourteen." 

When  the  vessel  was  ready,  Mr.  Bailey  said 
to  him:  "Galusha,  you  are  supercargo  of  this 
ship,  and  you  may  sell  the  lumber  at  any 
price  you  think  best;  but  sell.  If  you  want  to 
consult  the  captain  about  anything,  do  it,  as 
he  has  sense  and  is  my  friend." 

Unafraid  to  tackle  anything,  venturesome 
but  by  no  means  reckless,  with  a  few  dollars 
in  his  pocket,  he  started  on  his  voyage  into 
veritably  unknown  waters  and  strange  lands. 
Arriving  at  Annapolis  he  went  ashore  in  search 
of  a  buyer.  He  went  into  the  office  of  a  general 
merchant  by  the  name  of  Adams,  who  agreed 
to  buy  the  cargo  at  a  fair  price.  As  Galusha 


18  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

passed  out  of  the  place,  in  high  spirits,  Adams 
suddenly  changed  his  mind  and  called  him 
back,  saying  he  would  not  buy.  Galusha  was 
provoked  at  this  commercial  looseness  and 
left  without  saying  a  word.  He  had  respect 
for  adherence  to  a  promise  given. 

A  man  he  met  on  the  street  told  him  that 
a  gentleman  named  Claude,  who  was  not  a 
dealer  in  lumber,  but  who  owned  a  plantation 
on  an  inlet  a  few  miles  from  Annapolis,  wanted 
some  lumber.  He  went  in  search  of  Claude, 
finding  him  behind  the  counter  in  a  small 
store,  a  sharp-featured  man  with  a  sandy 
complexion. 

Galusha  stepped  up  to  him  and  inquired, 
"Do  you  want  my  pine  lumber?" 

Claude  looked  at  him  as  though  he  thought 
Galusha  ought  to  be  in  a  kindergarten.  Finally 
he  demanded,  "Where  are  you  from?" 

He  told  Claude  that  he  had  come  from 
northeastern  Pennsylvania  on  a  raft,  which 
seemed  to  puzzle  him.  Being  very  curious, 
Claude  put  the  boy  through  a  thorough  cate 
chism  about  his  family  and  business.  Galusha 
replied  briefly,  cautiously,  quite  holding  his 
own  under  interrogatory  fire. 

At  last  Claude  made  reply  to  his  first  ques- 


EARLY  YOUTH  19 

tion.  "I  want  fifteen  thousand  feet  of  pine 
boards  for  my  plantation." 

"That  would  only  take  half  my  cargo," 
protested  Galusha.  "I  do  not  want  to  sell 
half  of  it,  for  if  I  must  go  farther  to  sell  the 
rest  I  might  as  well  go  with  a  whole  load  as  a 
half." 

Claude  refused  to  buy  it  all,  so  Galusha 
started  again  in  pursuit  of  a  buyer.  On  the 
street  he  met  a  kindly  faced  old  man  and  told 
him  he  had  a  shipload  of  lumber  to  sell.  He 
stared  at  the  boy  in  surprise,  but  seeing  he 
was  serious,  told  him  that  a  man  named 
Carter  down  on  the  Patuxent  River  wanted 
lumber  for  a  large  tobacco  barn.  It  was  twenty 
miles  to  Carter's. 

Galusha  hired  a  saddle-horse  at  the  livery 
stable  and  started  for  the  Carter  plantation, 
reaching  it  just  after  sundown.  He  found  Mr. 
Carter  in  shirt-sleeves,  standing  in  his  front 
door. 

"Do  you  want  a  shipload  of  lumber?"  asked 
Galusha. 

His  answer  seemed  to  stop  the  boy's  heart. 
"I  bought  all  I  need  this  morning." 

Galusha  turned  to  go,  but  Mr.  Carter  kindly 
insisted  that  he  should  spend  the  night  under 


£0  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

his  roof.  For  the  first  time  he  realized  the 
meaning  of  Southern  hospitality,  for  Mr. 
Carter  and  his  family  were  very  gracious  to 
him.  During  the  evening  he  told  Galusha 
that  the  year  before  he  had  purchased  a  large 
supply  of  pine  from  William  Hartley,  who  was 
a  neighbor  of  the  Grows  at  Glenwood.  He 
at  once  felt  that  he  was  not  entirely  among 
strangers. 

He  returned  to  Annapolis  in  the  morning, 
leaving  the  livery  stable  with  the  intention  of 
seeing  Mr.  Claude  again.  He  met  Mr.  Adams 
on  the  street,  who  said,  "Young  man,  I  have 
changed  my  mind;  I  will  take  the  en  tire  cargo." 

"No,  Mr.  Adams,"  Galusha  replied,  "you 
backed  out  of  your  first  bargain,  and  I  do  not 
care  to  trade  with  a  man  who  won't  stand  up 
to  his  agreement."  He  left  Adams  staring 
with  surprise. 

Galusha  went  to  Mr.  Claude,  who  had 
treated  him  with  kindness,  and  told  him  about 
Adams.  Mr.  Claude  proposed  that  he  would 
take  half  and  let  Adams  have  the  other  half 
and  so  dispose  of  it  without  further  expense. 
Galusha  objected:  "Adams  made  a  bargain 
with  me  for  all  of  it  and  balked,  and  I  never 
did  like  balky  horses."  But  Mr.  Claude  urged 


EARLY  YOUTH  21 

him  to  do  as  he  proposed,  and  while  it  hurt 
his  dignity,  the  boy  finally  agreed.  He  was 
already  experienced  enough  in  trading  to 
know  when  to  compromise,  having  developed 
considerable  acumen. 

Adams  wanted  just  half  the  cargo,  and 
Galusha  requested  him  to  have  an  inspector 
ready  to  count  it.  When  Adams  came  to  pay, 
he  offered  Galusha  a  check,  but  the  boy 
wanted  cash  or  nothing.  Adams  flushed  and 
protested,  "Do  you  want  to  come  some 
Yankee  trick  on  me?" 

"No,"  the  boy  retorted,  "and  I  don't  pro 
pose  to  let  you  come  any  on  me!" 

This  seemed  to  please  the  older  man  and 
he  sent  a  messenger  to  the  bank  for  the  cash. 
"When  he  handed  it  to  me,"  writes  Mr.  Grow, 
"I  put  it  in  my  purse  with  the  money  received 
from  Claude,  pinned  it  tight  in  my  pocket 
with  three  pins,  and  started,  with  happy 
heart,  to  deliver  the  rest  of  the  lumber  to 
Mr.  Claude  at  the  plantation."  Claude  in 
sisted  that  Galusha  and  the  captain  take  din 
ner  with  him  and  afterwards  took  them  out  to 
look  at  his  plantation. 

The  slaves  were  cradling  wheat.  It  was  the 
first  time  the  boy  had  seen  slaves  at  work. 


22  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

After  they  had  left,  the  captain  remarked, 
"I  don't  suppose  people  up  your  way  think 
much  of  slavery."  Galusha  told  him  soberly 
that  they  did  not  like  it  and  that  "some  day" 
they  were  going  to  see  the  end  of  it. 

To  this  he  replied  with  a  robust  oath,  "Not 
by  a  damn  sight." 

"You  wait,"  retorted  Galusha,  pretty  hot, 
"and  you'll  see  the  sight  all  right  and  some 
of  the  damn  with  it!" 

Elated  by  his  luck,  he  caught  the  boat  for 
Baltimore.  Getting  in  early  next  morning, 
he  found  Frederick  and  Mr.  Bailey  at  the  hotel 
waiting  for  him.  He  proudly  turned  over  the 
cash.  Mr.  Bailey,  who  had  almost  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  he  had  made  a  mistake  in 
not  keeping  all  the  lumber  together  at  Port 
Deposit,  was  so  pleased  with  the  lad's  steward 
ship  that  he  rewarded  him  more  liberally  than 
he  had  expected.  It  was  the  first  money 
Galusha  had  ever  earned,  and  he  exclaimed 
exuberantly  to  Frederick,  "I  might  as  well 
spend  some  of  this  'Red  Dog'  before  the  banks 
break!  I  am  going  to  Mount  Vernon." 

Frederick  had  to  remain  in  Baltimore  for 
several  days  to  finish  his  lumber  deals,  but 
Galusha  took  the  first  Baltimore  &  Ohio  train 


EARLY  YOUTH  23 

for  Washington  and  reached  it  just  in  time  to 
catch  the  boat  for  Alexandria.  He  was  full  of 
a  boy's  tender  feeling  for  heroes.  First  thing 
next  morning  he  walked  to  Washington's 
tomb,  reaching  Mount  Vernon  at  eleven 
o'clock.  In  the  flower  garden  back  of  the  man 
sion  he  met  an  old  colored  man  and  told  him 
he  had  come  from  northern  Pennsylvania  on  a 
raft  and  had  walked  from  Alexandria  to  see 
Washington's  grave. 

The  old  negro  was  greatly  impressed.  "  Chile, 
dat  is  de  mos'  wonderful  thing  dat  ebber  hap 
pened!"  he  commented,  and  pulling  a  bunch 
of  flowers,  asked  questions  about  the  trip. 
After  visiting  the  mansion,  where  Galusha  saw 
the  mementoes  of  Washington,  the  old  man 
took  him  to  the  tomb.  As  they  approached  it 
he  took  off  his  hat.  The  boy,  quick  to  rever 
ence,  followed  his  example  with  democratic 
simple-heartedness,  and  they  both  stood 
speechless,  vibrating  with  the  present  power 
of  past  great  deeds. 

When  they  turned  away,  the  old  man  broke 
the  silence  for  the  first  time  since  reaching  the 
sacred  spot.  "  Dar  am  just  two  pussons  I  'se  got 
a  pow'ful  respec'  fur.  One  lies  in  dat  marble 
s'cofagus  and  de  udder  'spired  on  de  cross!" 


24  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Then  Galusha,  in  contemplative  mood, 
started  on  his  way  back  to  Alexandria.  As 
they  parted  at  the  gate  his  venerable  guide 
gave  him  a  farewell  which  seems  to  have 
added  the  finishing  touch  to  the  lad's  sense  of 
adventure.  "God  bress  you,  my  sailor  boy, 
and  keep  you  from  harm." 

Sailor  boy!  "I  would  have  walked  a  hun 
dred  miles  for  such  a  sojourn  as  I  had  in  that 
beautiful  place  with  that  kindly  old  guide!" 
Grow  set  down  seventy  years  afterward. 

The  next  day  he  spent  in  Washington,  visit 
ing  the  Capitol,  Navy  Yard,  and  Patent  Office, 
and  finally  went  to  the  White  House  to  see 
President  Van  Buren.  He  rang  the  bell  and 
told  the  guard  he  wanted  to  talk  with  the 
President. 

"What  do  you  want  of  him?"  the  guard 
demanded. 

Galusha  answered  ingenuously,  "I  just 
want  to  see  what  a  real  live  President  looks 
like  and  hear  him  talk." 

The  guard  smiled.  "The  President  has  gone 
to  Sharon  Springs,  but  you  may  go  through 
the  public  rooms  and  out  into  the  park." 

Disappointed,  he  took  what  comfort  he 
could  in  the  glories  of  the  Mansion,  and  then 


EARLY  YOUTH  25 

went  down  Pennsylvania  Avenue.  There  th3 
most  conspicuous  conveyance  he  saw  was  a 
rickety  old  omnibus  which  plied  between  the 
Navy  Yard  and  Georgetown,  and  as  it  rattled 
over  the  uneven  cobblestone  pavement  it 
made  a  noise  like  musketry  fire.  Over  the 
Tiber,  which  was  called  "Good  Creek"  before 
the  city  was  founded,  was  a  wooden  wicket 
bridge,  and  the  houses  along  the  avenue  looked 
shabby  even  to  a  boy  from  the  backwoods.  As 
he  passed  along  the  thoroughfare  he  saw  a 
group  of  slaves,  men,  women,  and  children, 
roped  together,  driven  by  a  man  holding  a  long 
whip.  He  would  now  and  then  snap  it  over 
their  heads  with  a  report  like  a  pistol  shot. 
He  did  not  strike  any  of  the  slaves,  but  he 
seemed  skillful  at  making  the  snapper  crack, 
and  cracked  away  sinisterly  as  he  hurried  the 
drove  on  toward  the  Capitol.  Galusha  re 
membered  what  he  had  said  to  the  captain 
on  the  Baltimore  steamer  and  hoped  that  his 
prophecy  would  come  true  at  an  early  date. 

He  left  for  Baltimore  not  much  impressed 
with  the  capital  of  his  country,  especially 
because  of  the  slave  incident,  and  after  spend 
ing  two  days  in  the  "Monumental  City,"  with 
Frederick  he  started  upon  the  long  journey 


26  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

home.  They  crossed  the  Susquehanna  River 
at  Havre  de  Grace  on  a  ferry-boat,  and  went 
through  Philadelphia  on  an  omnibus  line  from 
Pine  Street  Depot  and  sailed  up  to  Borden- 
town,  taking  a  train  from  there  for  New 
York  City. 

From  New  York  they  traveled  a  night  and 
two  days  by  stage  over  the  Milf ord  and  Owego 
Turnpike  to  Lenox  Corners,  which  was  four 
miles  from  home.  They  made  this  distance 
on  foot,  thus  completing  a  journey  occupying 
seventy-five  hours. 

"It  took  me  a  month  to  stop  talking  about 
the  trip,  and  the  boys  of  my  acquaintance 
thought  I  had  been  pretty  nearly  around  the 
world.  I  felt  that  I  was  a  traveled  young  man 
in  every  sense  of  the  word!"  Mr.  Grow  re 
cords.  The  great  event  at  that  time  in  the  life 
of  a  boy  living  in  the  region  surrounding  the 
head  waters  of  the  Susquehanna  was  a  trip 
down  the  river  on  a  raft  "clear  through."  As 
he  had  not  only  gone  "clear  through,"  but 
miles  and  miles  beyond,  to  the  tomb  of 
Washington,  he  had  no  rivals  among  the  boys 
of  northeastern  Pennsylvania,  and  conse 
quently  stood  unique  and  secure  in  his  proud 
fame. 


EARLY  YOUTH  27 

Characteristic  reflection  and  laconic  humor, 
for  which  he  must  have  had  need,  by  no  means 
deadened  the  romance  which  at  this  period 
held  him  by  the  throat.  The  ingenuousness 
with  which  he  made  his  advances  upon  life 
might  have  seemed  sheer  audacity  had  he 
been  pretentiously  knowing.  His  transparent 
innocence  displayed  his  sincerity  and  direct 
motives.  His  experiences  were  his  treasures, 
joyfully  prized.  His  tentative  traits  showed 
a  personality  which  later,  full  blown,  was  to 
become  superbly  sound  and  effective. 


CHAPTER  II 

EDUCATION   AND    FORMULATING    PURPOSES 

IN  this  period  of  his  contacts  with  individuals 
in  the  mountains  who  were  dealing  with  prim 
itive  tasks,  where  only  by  the  toil  of  settlers 
any  advance  was  made,  the  boy  saw  the  worth 
of  people  and  how  yearningly  interminable 
acres  awaited  the  application  of  human  power. 
The  appeal  of  land,  the  great  resource,  the 
touchstone  of  humanity,  held  him.  Equally 
gripping  was  the  appeal  of  the  needy  worker 
who  turned  his  all  into  virgin  land  and  fought 
valiantly  for  its  productiveness.  Passing  along 
the  rude  trails  he  watched  the  hard  labor  of 
settlers  trying  honestly  to  acquire  their  homes 
against  tremendous  odds.  Too  often  they 
were  endeavoring  to  support  their  families 
while  paying  off  the  land-shark,  some  specu 
lator  who  perhaps  had  never  left  the  confines 
of  the  city,  but  had  secured  title  at  abnor 
mally  cheap  rates  and  had  resold  at  a  price 
frequently  three  hundred  per  cent  on  his 
investment. 
^  The  land-shark's  only  claim  to  the  soil  was 


EDUCATION  29 

that  he  had  paid  a  pittance  to  the  surveyor 
and  axeman  to  blaze  a  line  through  the  forest 
in  addition  to  a  meager  sum  paid  to  the  State 
for  a  patent.  Securing  advantageous  locations 
and  exploiting  them,  he  victimized  those  who 
should  have  been  protected,  made  huge  profits 
upon  his  sharp  business,  and  put  upon  the 
home-maker  a  burden  heavier  than  he  should 
have  been  allowed  to  bear. 

Grow  then  began  to  perceive  what  later 
came  to  such  rich  fruition:  the  idea  that  a  man 
who  gives  his  heart  to  work  which  brings  such 
results  to  the  nation  as  the  homesteader  does 
has  earned  title  to  that  homestead.  Some  dim 
dream  stirred  him  of  a  miracle  for  America 
which  might  be  followed  by  the  provision  of 
homes  for  all  who  came.  He  could  not  foresee 
that  this  feeling  born  in  him  would  lead  to  his 
own  good  work  in  the  world,  nor  realize  that 
the  acceptance  of  such  perceptions  as  his 
firing-line  in  the  battle  of  progress  frequently 
brings  aTman  to  his  best  effectiveness;  but  the 
current  of  life  forces  caught  him  at  this  point, 
to  carry  him  steadily  onward. 

His  mother  showed  an  especially  strong  love 
for  him.  "Boy  Galusha!"  she  called  him,  and 
felt  perfect  assurance  that  his  understanding 


30  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

of  her  mood  would  be  comprehensive.  The 
days  were  busy  with  the  manifold  activities 
of  their  several  enterprises.  To  the  store  and 
the  lumber  had  been  added  the  collection  of 
neighborhood  cattle  and  driving  it  to  market; 
and  finally  Mrs.  Grow,  always  ambitious,  had 
added  a  gristmill  to  the  other  concerns.  In  the 
evenings  the  family  gathered  in  the  warm 
kitchen  to  talk  over  the  incidents  in  their 
business  —  perhaps  the  next  trip  down  to 
New  York  with  their  cattle,  or  of  receipts  from 
the  mill,  the  state  of  crops,  stock  for  the  store, 
or  the  best  ways  of  handling  trade.  "They 
were  all  in  a  pile!"  according  to  the  homely 
neighborhood  phrase  for  a  family  which  had 
common  instead  of  separate  business  inter 
ests. 

Frederick  had  a  good  deal  to  say  in  these 
evening  conferences,  Sammy  less,  and  Edwin, 
even  then,  little  indeed.  Mrs.  Grow  was  the 
family  manager.  She  settled  affairs.  She  com 
monly  sat  on  the  step  which  led  down  into 
the  kitchen,  paring  apples  as  she  talked  — 
apples  were  plenty  and  they  consumed,  as 
every  country  family  does,  unending  quanti 
ties.  It  was  an  evening  job  to  prepare  them 
and  Galusha  sometimes  helped.  When  it  was 


EDUCATION  31 

done  and  business  settled,  Mrs.  Grow  fre 
quently  told  ghost  stories,  or  merry  tales. 
With  her  good  strong  muscle  she  even  person 
ally  attended  to  playful  boyish  ebullitions  of 
strength,  and  usually  put  the  lad  on  his  back 
on  the  floor.  If  her  industry  was  endless,  her 
common  sense  unusual,  and  her  spirit  firm,  it 
is  certain  that  her  love  of  fun  was  very  deep. 
In  this  homely  comradeship  of  the  evenings 
the  mother  had  enjoyment,  and  the  sons  no 
small  part  of  their  character  training. 

One  day,  in  the  spring  of  1838,  Mrs.  Grow 
had  Frederick  hitch  up.  When  she  was  seated 
in  the  carriage  she  called  Galusha  to  her. 

"I  am  going  to  Harford  to  make  arrange 
ments  for  you  and  Elizabeth  to  attend 
Franklin  Academy  this  year,"  she  told  him. 
"I  want  you  to  go  through  college  and  study 
law  and  be  one  of  the  smartest  lawyers  there 
is  in  the  State!" 

It  was  characteristic  of  Mrs.  Grow  to  say 
nothing  until  her  decision  was  about  to  be 
consummated  in  an  act.  Galusha  was  strangely 
moved;  he  had  never  hoped  to  go  to  college, 
but  he  was  instantly  settled  in  the  pursuit 
of  his  life.  He  had  habitually  followed  his 
mother's  advice,  a  fact  to  which  he  felt,  in 


32  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

his  mellow  later  years,  that  he  was  indebted 
for  whatever  success  he  had  been  fortunate 
enough  to  achieve.  A  week  afterwards  he 
began  a  course  at  the  Academy,  boarding 
at  Mrs.  Walker's,  the  mother  of  Governor 
Walker,  of  Virginia,  who  resided  a  mile  from 
the  school.  Previously  his  education  had  been 
confined  to  a  few  months  of  district  school 
each  year.  He  continued  at  the  Franklin 
Academy  until  the  spring  of  1840,  and  the 
following  summer  he  studied  Greek  under 
William  Richardson,  son  of  Preston  Richard 
son,  the  former  principal,  who  died  shortly 
after  Galusha  entered  the  institution. 

In  September,  1840,  Galusha  entered  the 
freshman  class  at  Amherst.  It  was  to  cost  him 
"all  told"  four  hundred  dollars  a  year  during 
his  college  life.  That  amount  seemed  very 
extravagant  to  the  family  and  neighbors,  and 
he  could  never  make  them  fully  understand 
why  living  at  Amherst  was  so  much  more  than 
living  at  Glenwood.  The  selection  of  this  col 
lege  was  controlled  by  the  fact  that  William  S. 
Tyler,  who  was  from  Harford  and  had  fitted 
in  part  for  college  at  Franklin  Academy,  was 
then  a  well-known  professor  of  Greek  and 
Latin  at  Amherst.  Galusha  was  to  get  ready 


EDUCATION  33 

for  his  study  of  law,  but  he  also  determined, 
on  the  advice  of  his  mother,  to  have  a  practical 
craft,  and  studied  surveying. 

There  were  no  gymnasiums  at  the  college  in 
those  days,  and  each  student  looked  out  for 
his  own  physical  exercise  in  his  own  way. 
Galusha's  athletic  practice  consisted  of  cut 
ting  eight-foot  wood  into  two-foot  lengths,  and 
carrying  them  up  two  flights  of  stairs  to  be 
used  in  an  open  fireplace  which  was  supposed 
to  warm  his  room. 

"I  have  never  been  able  to  figure  out  just 
how  such  a  small  fireplace  could  eat  up  such 
a  large  amount  of  wood  and  throw  off  such  a 
small  amount  of  heat,"  he  used  to  say  after 
wards.  "I  have  concluded  that  it  must  have 
been  the  exercise  of  sawing  and  carrying  that 
kept  me  from  freezing  to  death.  Aside  from 
this  effort,  Professor  Hitchcock,  who  had  the 
chair  of  geology,  took  the  class  on  extended 
excursions  along  the  Connecticut  River,  and 
as  another  form  of  athletics  he  suggested  the 
organization  of  a  military  company,  which 
was  got  up  at  once;  and  to  my  surprise,  I  was 
elected  captain." 

The  year  he  went  to  Amherst  Grow  was  only 
seventeen.  Still,  he  took  a  deep  interest  in 


34  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

what  was  probably  the  greatest  of  all  political 
contests,  because  it  marked  the  awakening  of 
a  new  political  consciousness  in  the  people,  the 
Harrison- Van  Buren  fight.  It  plunged  the 
country  into  immense  excitement.  Texas  had 
applied  to  Congress  for  annexation.  The 
South  demanded  it  for  slave  purposes;  the 
North  opposed  it  on  the  same  grounds.  Grow's 
sympathy  was  with  the  Democratic  Party, 
but  with  that  faction  which  was  against  the 
expansion  of  slavery.  A  number  of  incidents 
which  occurred  about  that  time  had  stirred 
him  very  much. 

A  feeling  of  resentment  had  been  roused 
against  the  pro-slavery  men  of  the  North  for 
the  acts  of  brutality  they  inflicted  upon  those 
interested  in  limiting  the  slave  business  to 
territory  then  occupied  by  the  serf  system. 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  who  belonged  to  the 
radical  wing  of  the  abolitionists,  had  been 
dragged  through  the  streets  of  Boston  with  a 
rope  around  his  body,  and  had  been  rescued 
by  the  police  and  thrown  into  jail  to  save  him 
from  the  mob.  He  believed  in  the  right  of 
every  innocent  being  to  equal  freedom  with 
every  other,  and  refused  to  support  any  other 
view  even  by  implication.  The  South  would 


EDUCATION  35 

not  tolerate  him,  and  Southern  sympathizers 
in  the  North  made  his  life  a  devil's  rest. 

Another  outrage  occurred  in  a  hall  in  Phila 
delphia  where  some  anti-slavery  women  had 
met.  A  mob  stoned  the  building  and  finally 
burned  it  to  the  ground.  In  New  Hampshire 
and  Connecticut,  schools  for  colored  children 
were  destroyed  by  pro-slavery  men.  At  Alton, 
Illinois,  some  time  before,  Elijah  Lovejoy, 
brother  of  Owen  Lovejoy,  later  a  friend  and 
political  adherent  of  Mr.  Grow's,  was  mur 
dered  by  a  mob  of  Southern  sympathizers. 

"These  and  many  like  incidents  drove  me 
into  the  anti-expansionist  Democratic  Party 
of  the  North,"  he  once  said. 

At  this  period  the  country  was  in  the  throes 
of  a  great  business  depression,  and  Martin 
Van  Buren's  administration  was  blamed  for 
the  condition  of  affairs.  The  new  Whig  Party, 
which  sprang  from  opposition  to  President 
Jackson's  economic  principles  as  well  as  his 
so-called  "executive  usurpation,"  had  deep 
vitality.  The  hero  of  Tippecanoe,  William 
Henry  Harrison,  of  Ohio,  who  had  defeated 
the  Indian  chief  Tecumseh  thirty  years  before, 
caught  the  fancy  of  the  people,  who  became 
enthusiastic  —  not  to  say  hilarious  —  on  the 


36  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

subject  of  an  entirely  democratic  candidate. 
Tyler,  "pro-slave  and  then  Whig,"  was  a  good 
running-mate.  Extremes  of  protest  against 
Van  Buren,  charged  with  being  an  aristocrat, 
made  the  supporters  of  Harrison  claim,  as 
though  it  were  heroic,  that  Harrison  had 
lived  in  a  log  cabin  and  subsisted  on  hard 
cider. 

Imagine  a  more  thrilling  time  to  have  been 
caught  by  the  great  game  of  politics  than  that 
year,  when  the  country  began  to  be  torn  by 
strong  factional  strife!  Any  and  every  boy 
must  have  rejoiced  in  the  spiciness  of  that 
"hurrah  campaign,"  and  enjoyed  the  jokes 
and  spirited  fire  of  spontaneous  songs.  Cer 
tainly  Mr.  Grow  cherished  the  memory  of 
some  of  them  ever  after;  perhaps  the  choicest, 
the  first  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  Yankee  Doodle," 
being  the  following:  — 

"  That  Matty  loves  the  workingman 
No  workingman  can  doubt,  sir, 
For  well  he  doth  pursue  the  race 
To  turn  the  workers  out,  sir! 

"  He  turns  them  out  of  Whig  employ 
He  turns  them  out  of  bread,  sirs. 
The  middlemen  he  doth  annoy, 
By  striking  business  dead,  sirs ! 


EDUCATION  37 

"  For  Matty  is  a  Democrat  — 
Sing  Yankee  Doodle  Dandy! 
With  spoons  of  gold  and  English  coach 
And  servants  always  handy!" 

The  other  ran:  - 

"  What  has  caused  the  commotion,  'motion,  'motion 

Our  country  through? 

It  is  the  ball  a-rolling  on,  for  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too! 

And  with  them  we  shall  beat  Van. 

Van,  Van,  the  used-up  man! 

"  Let  them  talk  about  hard  cider,  cider,  cider, 

And  log  cabins  too  — 

It  will  only  speed  the  ball  for  Tippecanoe  and  Tyler  too. 

Van,  Van,  Van 

You're  not  our  man!" 

In  spite  of  his  Democracy,  it  was  obvious 
that  Grow  could  not  have  lived  through  an 
hour  so  critical  to  his  growth,  when  the  cry 
was  "Land!  Land!"  always  "More  land!" 
without  having  his  sensitiveness  to  the  sub 
ject,  already  deep,  greatly  quickened.  With 
the  appreciation  of  what  opportunity  our 
agricultural  land  offered,  with  an  instinctive 
sympathy  for  the  earnestness  with  which  our 
young  nation  was  pushing  out  tendrils  of 
settlement  toward  the  West,  it  is  to  his  honor 
that  he  preferred  to  oppose  the  annexation  of 
territory  unless  it  could  be  free  soil.  Perhaps 


38  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  very  gap  between  his  own  impulse  and  the 
party's  stand  for  acquisition,  coupled  with 
slavery,  gave  a  final  fascination  to  candidates 
and  their  policies. 

At  any  rate,  he  kept  closely  in  touch  with 
the  political  situation.  He  watched  the  Creole 
case  with  much  interest  when  it  came  up  in 
1842,  when  Giddings  offered  a  series  of  resolu 
tions  in  the  House  claiming  that  the  States 
had  never  delegated  their  jurisdiction  of  the 
slave  question  to  the  National  Government, 
that  slavery  was  an  abridgment  of  a  natural 
right  and  could  only  exist  by  positive  law, 
and  that  a  United  States  vessel  on  the  high 
seas  is  under  United  States  and  not  state 
jurisdiction.  The  debate  on  these  resolutions 
became  so  threatening  that  the  majority  of 
the  House,  under  slave  domination,  brought 
the  discussion  suddenly  to  an  end  and  voted 
a  censure  upon  Giddings  for  introducing  the 
subject,  a  censure  so  severe  that  he  was  forced 
to  resign  his  seat.  His  Ohio  constituents  im 
mediately  reflected  him  with  direct  instruc 
tions  to  present  the  resolutions  again.  During 
the  negotiations  of  the  arbitration  treaty  the 
matter  was  disposed  of  satisfactorily  to  both 
Governments  and  the  excitement  died  out. 


EDUCATION  39 

Such  matters  stimulated  Grow  to  take  part 
actively  in  the  political  discussions  at  Amherst 
and  he  made  his  maiden  speech  in  the  Polk- 
Clay  campaign.  He  had  studied  carefully  the 
platform  adopted  by  the  Whigs  (1844)  and 
decided  it  meant  everything  or  nothing: 
Henry  Clay  was  the  Whig  nominee;  annexa 
tion  of  Texas  was  the  prime  topic  of  the  hour, 
partly  due  to  Tyler's  forcing  it.  Clay  was 
supposed  to  be  against  the  project  and  the 
Liberty  Party  refused  to  endorse  him,  select 
ing  J.  G.  Birney  the  second  time  as  their  can 
didate.  Grow's  natural  sympathy  in  the  mat 
ter,  despite  his  aversion  to  slavery,  led  him  to 
stand  with  Polk. 

*  His  stanch  forthrightness  in  his  undergrad 
uate  years  was  very  marked.  A  classmate 
wrote  thus  amusingly  of  him  in  an  article  pub 
lished  in  the  "Hampshire  Gazette":  "Like 
Galileo,  whom  he  personated  in  a  commence 
ment  colloquy,  Grow  would  boldly  set  forth 
in  the  face  of  the  world  a  new  system  if  sat 
isfied  of  its  truth,  but  not  like  Galileo  would 
he  recant,  for  fear  had  no  place  in  his  vocabu 
lary."  His  fellows  predicted  that  he  would  be 
in  Congress  five  years  after  his  graduation. 
He  finished  college  satisfactorily  but  not 


40  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

brilliantly,  a  good  surveyor,  a  good  speaker,  a 
good  thinker,  albeit  not  strikingly  original. 
At  commencement  he  delivered  an  oration 
on  "Moral  Mobocracy." 

His  confidence  at  this  time  seemed  unshak 
able,  but  it  arose  from  the  ability  he  had 
acquired  to  meet  everything  as  it  came.  His 
sources  of  strength  were  those  of  the  plain 
people.  From  the  time  he  milked  the  cows 
of  his  maternal  grandfather  in  Connecticut  to 
the  time  he  entered  Amherst  he  had  lived  the 
simple  life  of  a  boy  whose  lot  is  the  wilderness 
and  whose  abiding-place  is  such  an  isolated 
farm  —  conditions  which  seem  not  infre 
quently  to  produce  Americans  of  great  worth. 

The  day  after  his  graduation  he  started  for 
home.  At  Springfield,  Massachusetts,  there 
was  a  great  throng  of  people,  and  hearing  that 
there  was  to  be  a  rally  to  ratify  Henry  Clay's 
nomination  for  President,  he  could  not  resist 
the  temptation  to  stop  over  and  hear  the  "Big 
Three,"  Daniel  Webster,  Rufus  Choate,  and 
Horace  Greeley,  who  were  to  speak. 

"I  listened  in  breathless  admiration  to  those 
great  men,  and  their  words  inspired  me  with  an 
irresistible  desire  to  take  part  in  the  campaign," 
he  acknowledges.  "The  rounded  and  majestic 


EDUCATION  41 

periods  of  Webster,  the  concise  and  logical 
statements  of  Choate,  contrasted  strangely 
with  the  fierce,  sledge-hammer  blows  which  the 
great  editor  launched  at  the  platforms  and  poli 
cies  of  his  opponents." 

So  interested  was  he  that  he  entered  actively 
into  the  campaign  as  soon  as  he  reached  home, 
making  his  first  speech  from  the  south  end 
of  the  bridge  which  crosses  the  Susquehanna 
River  at  Hallstead,  Pennsylvania,  the  place 
at  that  time  being  called  "Great  Bend  Vil 
lage,"  while  Great  Bend  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river  was  called  "Lodersville."  Noth 
ing  interested  him  like  politics.  "He  wasn't 
like  most  young  fellows,"  said  a  boyhood  ac 
quaintance.  "There  was  one  girl  he  might  have 
married,  but  his  mother  stopped  that  —  did  n't 
think  she  was  good  enough  —  and  —  well,  she 
wa'n't,  either !  The  Grows  was  real  big  people 
and  she  wa'n't  their  kind.  And  they  said  that 
one  farmer  livin'  up  that  way  locked  his  daugh 
ter  up  and  kep'  her  there  because  she  was  so 
crazy  in  love  with  young  Grow.  But  whether 
that's  so  or  not,  I  don't  know.  He  did  n't  seem 
to  care  about  things  like  that,  but  he  liked 
to  be  off  somewhere  speakin'. " 

"He  was  always  into  anythin'  to  be  done," 


42  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

added  another  friend,  driving  his  spade  into 
the  ground  with  the  vigorous  thrust  of  youth 
which  denied  his  years;  "like  diggin'  potatoes 
now.  He'd  pitch  in  and  help!" 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   LAW   AND    THE   LAND 

PENNSYLVANIA  at  this  epoch  was  still  a  "seed- 
plot  of  frontier  immigration,"  passing  on  her 
inhabitants,  and  the  dweller  therein  did  not 
suffer,  as  did  the  New  Englander,  from  the 
acuteness  of  sectionalism.1  Grow  was  fortu 
nate  to  live  in  an  environment  where  wide 
interests  were  encouraged.  With  the  earnest 
ness  which  early  characterized  him,  he  went 
on  to  that  study  for  the  bar  which  his  mother 
with  such  sterling  judgment  had  indicated. 
After  the  campaign  was  over  he  entered  the 
office  of  Governor  Cleveland,  of  Connecticut, 
where  he  remained  several  months,  going  from 
there  to  read  law  with  F.  B.  Streeter,  of  Mon- 
trose,  Pennsylvania,  in  the  winter  of  1845,  and 
in  the  spring  of  1847  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in 
Susquehanna  County.  He  formed  a  partner 
ship  with  David  Wilmot,  of  Proviso  fame,  who 
was  at  that  time  a  member  of  Congress  from 
the  district  which  was  composed  of  the  coun 
ties  of  Bradford,  Tioga,  and  Susquehanna. 

1  Turner,  The  Frontier  in  American  History. 


44  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Wilmot,  Grow  found,  was  in  some  ways  a 
remarkable  man.  Born  in  the  hamlet  of  Beth 
any,  he  had  moved  at  the  age  of  eighteen  with 
his  father  to  Dimock.  Fortunately,  at  a  near 
by  country-seat  called  "Woodburne,"  there 
was  a  good  library  to  which  young  Wilmot  had 
free  access.  In  several  volumes  written  by  the 
Quaker  companions  of  the  Father  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  he  found  strong  sentiments  against  the 
institution  which  made  merchandise  of  men. 
They  influenced  his  actions  all  the  years  of  his 
life.  He  often  told  Grow  that  at  this  library  he 
stored  up  a  knowledge  of  our  political  institu 
tions  which  was  of  great  value  to  him  in  his 
public  service.  He  studied  law  in  Wilkes-Barre 
and  commenced  practice  in  Towanda,  where 
Grow  became  a  member  of  the  firm. 

"He  was  a  typical  old-time  statesman," 
Mr.  Grow  once  wrote  of  him.  "Very  portly, 
his  face  was  beardless  and  full  of  intelligence. 
At  certain  times  he  reminded  me  of  Edward 
Everett,  although  he  did  not  have  Everett's 
refined  ways  and  accomplishments.  He  had 
a  logical  mind  and  was  a  forceful  debater  on 
questions  in  which  he  was  interested,  such  as 
restricting  the  encroachment  of  slavery  on 
the  free  soil  of  our  virgin  territories.  His  fight 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      45 

for  this  principle  brought  forth  his  famous 
Proviso  in  1846,  during  the  Mexican  War. 
The  war  was  popular  in  the  South,  which  de 
sired  more  territory  for  slave  purposes,  but 
the  North  was  lukewarm  in  its  prosecution 
and  Congress  was  trying  to  enable  President 
Polk  to  negotiate  a  treaty  by  appropriating 
two  millions  of  dollars  for  a  large  slice  of  ter 
ritory  which  the  South  was  desirous  of  secur 
ing  for  their  slave  system.  While  Wilmot  was 
in  favor  of  obtaining  territory,  he  was  thor 
oughly  imbued  with  the  Northern  spirit  and 
offered  an  amendment  that  "in  any  territory 
acquired  from  Mexico  neither  slavery  nor 
involuntary  servitude  shall  ever  exist  other 
wise  than  in  punishment  of  crime  where  the 
parties  shall  have  been  duly  convicted." 

This  Proviso  lay  as  much  in  the  hour  as  the 
man,  although  later  many  Northern  Demo 
crats  were  frightened  into  withdrawing  their 
support.  Wilmot  remained  true  to  his  convic 
tions,  although  he  realized  that  his  resolution 
was  creating  a  wide  split  in  the  Democratic 
Party  in  his  district.  He  stood  bravely  against 
all  threats,  one  of  the  sturdy  forerunners  of 
the  time  of  freedom. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  Wilmot  is  not  the 


46  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

real  author  of  the  Proviso;  that  either  Jacob 
Brinkerhoff  or  Samuel  P.  Vinton,  of  Ohio, 
wrote  it  and  requested  Wilmot  to  introduce 
it.  Mr.  Grow  contributes  on  this  point:  "I  do 
not  recall  Wilmot  ever  mentioning  the  ques 
tion  of  authorship,  although  we  discussed 
the  words  and  spirit  of  the  Proviso  many 
times.  As  these  perfectly  harmonize  with  the 
views  he  often  expressed  and  emphasized  to 
me,  I  am  convinced  that  he  is  responsible 
for  the  Proviso  both  in  text  and  spirit  and 
that  he  merits  all  the  fame  that  came  to  him 
by  its  existence." 

Wilmot  and  Grow  differed  somewhat  in 
the  way  they  regarded  the  slavery  question. 
Beginning  his  career  a  Democrat,  young  Grow, 
with  his  strong  humanity  and  keen  feeling 
on  the  subject  of  bondage,  was  moved  by  a 
strong  desire  to  play  an  effective  part  in  the 
settlement  of  the  slavery  issue,  but  he  con 
sidered  that  the  only  way  to  approach  it  was 
through  allied  economic  questions.  To  Wil 
mot  the  question  was  more  detached.  Grow 
firmly  believed  that  the  land  was  the  great 
solvent.  Controversial  discussions  between 
them  on  the  various  big  topics  of  the  day  — 
immigration  and  labor,  for  instance  —  were 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      47 

inextricably  mixed  with  How  are  we  to  solve 
the  problem  of  the  hunger  of  the  crowds  for  land 
and  the  hunger  of  the  land  for  the  people?  The 
cry  for  land  was  in  reality  the  "Marseillaise" 
of  the  "bread-fight"  then  going  on,  due  to  the 
pressure  of  that  immigration  which  so  excited 
political  America  that  the  Native  American  or 
Know-Nothing  Party  was  organized  in  protest. 

Grow  felt  that  the  on-to-the-land  impulse 
was  really  an  outworking  of  the  soul  of  the 
nation,  and  the  Government  was  failing  when 
it  did  not  so  offer  the  soil  that  the  people  could 
gratify  their  insatiable  appetite  for  home- 
building. 

To-day,  with  our  thriving  civilization,  the 
feeling  of  complete  union  among  our  States, 
our  vast  homogeneous  business  system  with 
its  great  and  more  or  less  unified  parapher 
nalia  of  transportation,  commerce,  and  com 
munication,  its  facilities  for  credit,  industry, 
and  trade,  it  seems  practically  impossible  to 
transpose  the  West  to  the  true  key  of  seventy 
years  ago.  Grow,  listening  to  its  call,  visualiz 
ing  its  future,  could  then  with  even  greater 
difficulty  foresee  the  practical  changes  which 
must  take  place;  but  he  must  intensely  have 
felt  the  urge  of  the  young  country. 


48  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Not  then  proven  even  a  transcontinental 
force,  the  life  principle  of  nations  pushed  us 
forward  toward  the  other  ocean.  Groping  for 
true  continental  dominion,  the  acquisition  of 
Mexican  territory,  Texas,  and  the  award  of 
Oregon  completed  our  instinctive  wants  and 
we  had  an  area  of  between  five  and  six  billion 
acres.  It  rendered  us  a  contiguous  structure, 
articulated;  but  we  were  as  a  skeleton  upon 
which  the  flesh  must  be  mounted. 

The  great  West  lay  ready;  what  is  roughly 
a  third  of  our  country  was  still  a  mysterious, 
unfulfilled  promise,  a  lure  to  hardy  spirits  who 
must  inevitably  overcome  enormous  hard 
ships  and  great  danger  to  perform  the  duty 
which  would  bring  forth  uncertain  rewards. 
That  migration,  of  which  De  Tocqueville  ex 
claimed  in  1812,  "No  event  can  be  compared 
with  this  constant  removal  of  the  human  race 
except  perhaps  those  irruptions  which  pre 
ceded  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  had 
in  forty  years  surged  on  momentously.1  The 
frontier  was  moving  forward,  but  at  this  time 
the  flood  of  migration  had  apparently  spent 
itself  at  the  western  boundaries  of  Missouri 

1  Ellen  Churchill  Semple,  American  History  and  its  Geo 
graphical  Conditions. 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      49 

and  Iowa.  The  pivotal  central  valleys  of  the 
country,  territories  drained  by  our  master 
rivers  up  to  the  edge  of  arid  regions,  were 
roughly  conquered.  But  beyond  stretched 
areas  utterly  new,  waiting  confidently  in  their 
fabulous  wealth,  full  of  marvelous  minerals, 
untellably  abundant  of  all  resources.  They 
gleamed  in  a  sunset  glory,  and  following  those 
forerunners  of  agricultural  settlement,  hunt 
ers,  trappers,  cattlemen,  all  possessing  endur 
ance,  sagacity,  and  resource,  picked  their  way 
across  the  mountain  passes,  painfully  break 
ing  open  the  trails  for  a  few  heroic  settlers. 
"Manhood  in  its  prime  and  womanhood  in  its 
bloom  are  the  core  of  all  emigration,"  1  says 
Collier  in  his  interesting  papers  on  coloniza 
tion. 

The  impress  of  such  developments  upon  a 
young  man  already  in  the  grip  of  the  land 
idea,  already  with  a  vision  of  the  nation  ex 
panding  on  a  grand  and  beneficent  scale,  was 
naturally  great.  This  effect  could  not  escape 
being  strengthened  by  the  sweep  of  the  im 
pulse  which  possessed  our  people,  who  were  in 
"  that  anticipatory  fever  which,  just  as  height 
ened  temperature  marks  the  plant  before 

1  Collier,  "Colonization,"  North  American  Review,  1910. 


50  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

budding," *  marks  the  great  folk-movements. 
Motived  by  those  causes,  the  adventure 
spirit,  hunger,  gold  lust,  desire  for  freedom  of 
various  sorts,  which  impel  all  migration,  the 
earnest,  adventurous  advances  of  our  emi 
grants  into  the  "Indian  country"  and  the 
back-land,  the  Oregon  parties,  the  Mormons, 
the  early  Californians,  touched  the  national 
imagination.  The  effect  of  the  romantic 
movement  westward  had  a  telling  effect  on 
the  spirit  as  well  as  the  physiology  of  the  new 
country.  For  behind  the  forerunners  hived  a 
people  full  of  ambition,  of  energy,  of  aspira 
tion,  ready  to  seize  the  opportunity  and  ad 
vantage,  willing  to  hazard  or  achieve,  and 
urged  forward  by  the  rhythmic  waves  of 
immigrants.  In  1845  two  hundred  thousand 
came,  and  each  succeeding  year  more,  North 
Europe's  involuntary  aid  to  us.  Migration, 
aggressive,  heroic,  strenuous,  was  compelling 
us  to  provide  for  it. 

The  land-reform  plea  became  ever  more 
pressing.  In  1844  Evans  began  agitating,  in 
"People's  Rights,"  to  secure  four  things: 
(1)  Freedom  of  the  public  lands  in  a  limited 
quantity  to  actual  settlers;  (2)  cessation  of 

1  Collier,  "  Colonization,"  North  American  Review,  1910. 


DANIEL    FREEMAN   OF   NEBRASKA,   THE   FIRST 
HOMESTEADER 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      51 

the  sale  t)f  public  land  to  non-resident  pur 
chasers;  (3)  the  exemption  of  homesteads;  and 
(4)  the  restriction  of  the  purchase  of  any  other 
land  to  a  limited  quantity.  A  "Free-Soil" 
segment  immediately  appeared  in  the  Demo 
cratic  Party.  Andrew  Johnson's  resolution 
the  following  year  was  the  first  formulation 
of  public  opinion,  a  resolution  that  Congress 
should  award  every  homeless  citizen  or  widow 
a  portion  of  the  domain.  This  created  a  good 
deal  of  discussion,  much  of  it  sarcastic,  but  it 
paved  the  way  for  a  new  programme  and  the 
proposal  of  other  acts  followed  closely. 

These  propositions  naturally  caused  Grow 
to  review  the  legislation  from  early  days  rela 
tive  to  the  domain.  He  wanted  to  know,  with 
a  lusty,  American,  constructive  curiosity,  why 
we  had  not  even  natural  expansion;  what  made 
the  occupation  of  land  in  severalty  so  unsatis 
factory  a  business.  He  wanted  to  know  why, 
after  three  quarters  of  a  century,  we  were  still 
doubtful  whether  the  immigrant  was  suffi 
ciently  worth  his  salt  to  permit  him  to  have 
land.  He  could  not  see  why,  as  it  has  been 
since  expressed,1  we  were  getting  rid  of  our 
public  lands  as  recklessly  as  though  they  were 

1  Henry  George,  Land  and  Labor. 


52  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

a  curse.  What  he  found  is  relevant  to  his 
whole  later  life. 

The  commons  up  to  1803  were  made  up 
of  cessions  to  the  Federal  Government  by  the 
original  colonies  of  about  two  hundred  and 
sixty  million  acres  which  they  had  received 
from  King  George,  tendered  to  satisfy  Revo 
lutionary  debts.  These  sufficiently  provided 
for,  a  policy  was  determined  upon  (1780)  con 
cerning  the  formation  of  Territories  into  new 
States,  —  which  was  the  foundation  of  our 
territorial  system,1  —  and  a  plan  was  settled 
upon  for  sale  of  the  States'  common  property. 

We  did  not  immediately  express  our  faith 
in  democracy,  as  it  would  seem  we  should 
have  done,  by  taking  the  log  cabin  with  its 
primitive  hearth  as  a  symbol  for  our  land 
programme.  At  this  time  the  conception  had 
not  been  wrought  of  private  property  based 
on  anything  different  from  aristocratic  North- 
European  forms  of  land  tenure.  The  first  two 
million  acres  went  in  two  sales,  and  pur 
chasers  presented  themselves,  as  to  the  Crown, 
to  Congress  through  petitions,  which  were 
there  acted  upon  and  referred  to  the  Board  of 
Treasury. 

1  Shosuke  Sato. 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      53 

The  first  great  free  charter  for  our  public 
lands,  the  Ordinance  of  1787  (commonly 
called  the  "Magna  Charta"  of  our  land  legis 
lation),  besides  dealing  with  slavery,  excluding 
it  from  the  Territories,  and  defining  the  com 
mon  rights  of  dwellers  therein,  established  the 
principle  of  using  the  common  lands  for  educa 
tion  and  internal  improvements. 

Hamilton,  two  years  later,  submitted  the 
first  plan  of  a  General  Land  Office  for  the 
administration  of  the  domain,  although  the  of 
fice  was  not  established  until  1812.  In  the  same 
report  in  which  he  made  this  recommendation 
he  favored  small  holdings  as  well  as  large 
sales.  His  influence  was  strong;  the  prev 
alent  opinion  had  by  this  time  come  to  be 
that  terms  of  acquisition  should  be  made 
easy.  Nevertheless,  the  first  general  land  law 1 
(1796)  provided  for  sale  only  in  tracts  of  not 
less  than  640,  nor  more  than  5120  acres  each. 
The  custom  of  sales  at  public  auction  was 
established  and  the  terms  were  not  less  than 
two  dollars  an  acre.  Credit  was  afforded;  per 
mission  to  pay  in  evidences  of  public  debt 
was  given,  and  the  land  was  forfeit  in  case  of 
failure. 

1  Morris  Bien,  Land  System  of  the  United  States. 


54  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Then  Uncle  Sam  made  an  effort  to  strike 
a  more  democratic  gait.  The  unit  of  lands 
offered  for  sale  was  reduced  to  sections  and 
half -sections  at  the  same  minimum  price, 
with  credit  extended  up  to  four  years,  with 
interest.  This  was  the  first  really  progressive 
achievement,  a  beneficial  act  which  bore 
directly  upon  settlement,  rapid  improvement, 
and  permanent  prosperity  of  the  first  Western 
States.  The  Surveyor-General,  whose  office 
was  then  established  just  about  as  it  is  now, 
was  authorized  to  lease  lands  for  future  dis 
position  (1800).  The  earliest  recognition  of 
the  preemption  right  was  also  contained  in 
the  bill,  as  it  provided  that  any  person  who 
had  erected  a  gristmill  was  entitled  to  purchase 
the  section  on  which  it  stood. 

The  first  expansion  of  our  territorial  limits, 
unexpected  and  really  unsolicited  on  our  part 
when  we  acquired  the  vast,  magnificent  ter 
rain  known  as  the  "Louisiana  Purchase  "  just 
as  it  was  acquired  from  Spain,  including  all 
the  territory  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi 
River  from  its  mouth  to  its  source,  an  area 
four  times  greater  than  France  itself  and  al 
most  double  the  area  of  the  thirteen  colonies, 
made  the  solution  of  the  land  problem  far 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      55 

more  imperative.  Quite  as  significant  and 
happy  as  the  territorial  expansion  was  our 
resultantly  broadened  point  of  view. 

At  the  time  we  received  this  terrain,  we  fell 
far  short  of  being  willing  practically  to  ac 
knowledge  the  Government's  debt  for  common 
men's  labor.  Our  system  failed  to  provide  for 
the  very  classes  which  were  to  determine  our 
character  as  a  nation.  Perhaps  the  most 
flagrant  example  proving  this  lay  in  the  early 
"  redemptioners  "  1  who,  that  they  might  make 
for  themselves  homes  in  America,  availed 
themselves  of  the  "privilege "  of  binding  them 
selves  and  their  labor  to  captains  or  vessel 
owners  for  one,  three,  five,  or  seven  years. 
Even  after  they  had  redeemed  themselves, 
we  had  no  chance  of  a  livelihood  to  offer  on 
the  great  back-land.  A  modest  settler  could 
not  buy  directly  nor  even  lease  from  the 
Government  a  small  plot  to  cultivate. 

Trial  of  true  democracy  in  land  tenure  was 
prevented  by  the  persistent  ideas  of  capitalist 
landlordism,  maintained  unreasoningly.  But 
after  1803  the  country  seemed  to  realize  that 
something  was  radically  wrong  with  our  sys 
tem. 

1  Horace  Greeley,  on  "Immigration." 


56  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

The  following  year  logical  advance  was 
made.  An  act  was  passed  by  which  the  lands 
were  offered  for  sale  in  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
acre  tracts,  and  payment  of  surveying  ex 
penses  and  patent  fees  was  discontinued.  Two 
years  after  that,  payment  in  evidences  of 
public  debt  was  forbidden,  but  credit  arrange 
ments  were  made  even  easier.  The  privilege 
of  temporary  occupation  was  given  to  settlers 
upon  application  in  1816.  The  preemption 
idea  was  resisted  as  encroachment  upon  the 
rights  of  the  States,  however. 

Immigration  was  comparatively  slow  up  to 
1820,  only  some  250,000  foreigners  coming. 
Not  until  after  that  year,  when  annual  totals 
mounted  rapidly,  were  the  democratic  results 
of  our  territorial  expansion  felt  in  land  policy. 
Then  a  new  lane  began  to  open  in  the  public 
mind,  down  which  the  wise  of  Grow's  gener 
ation  saw  a  fascinating  picture  of  prosperity. 
Oppression  in  Europe  was  forcing  out  the 
population,  and  the  United  States,  presenting 
many  chances  to  labor  in  our  varied  indus 
tries,  offered  the  easiest  channel  for  the  sig 
nificant  flood  of  potential  human  wealth. 
In  spite  of  this,  in  agriculture,  the  backbone 
of  our  existence,  little  but  obstacles  was  at 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      57 

first  set  before  these  humble  people,  rich  only 
in  labor  power  and  land  love. 

The  prevailing  systems  of  administration 
of  public  lands  were  those  of  John  Quincy 
Adams,  whose  plan  was  to  make  the  national 
domain  the  inexhaustible  fund  for  progressive 
and  increasing  internal  improvements,  and 
Henry  Clay's  "American "  plan.  But  systems 
were  not  what  the  West  wanted;  they  wanted 
land.1  Benton,  the  man  of  widest  views  on 
the  destiny  of  the  West,  thought  a  low  price 
would  avail.  He  proposed  and  fought  through 
the  first  bill  modifying  the  cost  of  public  lands, 
and  establishing  an  eighty-acre  unit  at  a  dol 
lar  and  a  quarter  an  acre.  Demoralizing 
credit  was  stopped.  Although  no  solution,  this 
was  good  progress:  but  even  under  Benton's 
bill  public  auction  still  advantaged  the  buyer 
with  money  over  the  man  without  much  cash. 

A  more  elaborate  graduation  proposal  was 
made  later  (1828),  but  the  great  controversy 
over  land  policy,  which  later  shook  the  very 
foundations  of  the  Union,  really  began  in 
1830  when  Foote's  resolution,  a  simple  pro 
posed  inquiry  into  the  expediency  of  tempo 
rary  suspension  of  the  sales  of  public  lands, 

1  Benton,  Abridgment  of  Debates. 


58  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

precipitated  the  great  debates  of  Webster, 
Hayne,  and  Benton,  not  only  on  the  present 
and  future  conditions  of  disposal  of  the  do 
main,  but  upon  the  doctrine  of  nullification 
and  its  sequence  —  the  dissolution  of  the 
Union  at  the  will  of  any  one  State.  ;  At  that 
time  practically  two  hundred  and  sixty  mil 
lion  acres  embraced  within  the  States  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Tennessee 
were  involved;  all  of  Minnesota  east  of  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  all  of  Alabama  and 
Mississippi  east  of  the  thirty-first  parallel. 
Hayne  held  that  the  lands  should  be  trans 
ferred  to  new  States  on  easy  terms  for  the 
benefit  of  settlers  and  cultivators.  He  depre 
cated  their  sale  for  money,  either  to  be  divided 
among  the  States  or  to  accumulate  in  the 
Treasury,  as  leading  to  corruption  and  con 
solidation. 

Webster  defended  the  policy  of  sale  at  a 
dollar  and  a  quarter  an  acre  and  maintained 
that  disunion  threatened  unless  federal  author 
ity  over  the  lands  was  upheld.  Benton,  now  a 
step  advanced  from  his  own  graduation  plan 
of  1821,  fought  obstinately  for  the  inaugura 
tion  of  a  policy  by  which  the  lands  should  no 
longer  be  treated  as  a  source  of  revenue,  but 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      59 

should  be  given  without  charge  and  still  ad 
ministered  by  the  Federal  Government  in  its 
own  favor.  They  would  be,  he  maintained,  the 
best  sort  of  common  interest  for  the  States, 
cementing  them  as  they  should  be  cemented 
in  union. 

This  great  and  prolonged  debate  set  the 
ball  rolling,  and  it  never  stopped  for  thirty 
years  more.  In  1832  a  law  passed  providing 
for  sale  of  as  little  as  forty  acres,  and  quaintly 
phrased  that  "all  actual  settlers  being  house 
keepers  on  the  public  lands"  should  be  al 
lowed  to  enter  such  a  tract,  a  statute  which 
remained  in  force  less  than  ten  years.  The  im 
portant  proposal  of  this  period,  however,  was 
Henry  Clay's  bill  (1832)  for  dividing  the  net 
proceeds  of  sales  from  the  public  lands  among 
the  States.  It  passed  both  houses,  but  Jack 
son,  holding  it  over  a  session,  vetoed  it.  His 
idea,  "The  Union  must  be  preserved,"  influ 
enced  all  he  did.  He  was  the  first  effectively 
to  take  the  progressive  ground  that  public 
lands  should  not  be  held  as  a  source  of  pub 
lic  revenue,  but  as  an  inducement  to  actual 
settlers. 

So  unprotected  was  the  mass  of  territory, 
however,  that  conditions  became  scandalous. 


60  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Land  easily  obtained  from  the  Government 
brought  an  unearned  profit.  Great  prosperity 
lay  in  its  manipulation.  Speculation  mounted 
appallingly,  everybody  borrowing  here,  there, 
and  everywhere  to  carry  all  they  could.  Danger 
of  monopoly  in  lands  was  plain  to  any  eye. 
They  were  paid  for  mainly,  to  use  the  phrase 
of  the  day,  in  "wild-cat  and  red-dog  state 
bank  currency,"  the  paper  of  state  banks 
which  were  the  repositories  of  government 
funds.  Jackson  stopped  that,  laying  it  down 
that  tracts  should  be  paid  for  in  gold  or  silver, 
and  this  "specie  order"  precipitated  a  panic. 
Some  of  the  States  were  in  financial  low 
water  at  this  time,  and  it  seemed  to  many 
politicians  that  the  public  lands  would  relieve 
them.  States  owed  so  much  money,  a  good 
part  of  $200,000,000,  to  the  Barings  and  other 
European  financiers  that  their  creditors  began 
pressing  for  settlement,  suggesting  that  the 
Federal  Government  assume  the  debt.  A 
graduation  bill  was  proposed  once  more  in 
1838  to  hasten  some  disposition  of  public 
lands.  This  failing,  party  politics,  which 
greased  the  way  for  four  fat  measures  at  the 
end  of  the  session  in  1840,  secured  the  actual 
passage  of  a  preemption  bill  which  specified 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      61 

that  the  proceeds  of  the  public  lands  should 
be  divided  among  the  States. 

If  this  law  had  stood,  our  whole  subsequent 
history  might  have  been  considerably  altered. 
However,  it  was  instantly  seen  that  it  could 
not  operate.  The  National  Treasury  was 
empty,  a  loan  bill  and  a  tax  measure  pend 
ing.  In  this  act  the  Federal  Government  indi 
rectly  assumed  the  responsibility  for  the  loans 
the  States  had  made,  by  guaranteeing  that 
they  should  have  income  for  operations  which 
the  National  Government  controlled.  The 
measure  was  so  comprehensively  extrava 
gant  that  it  was  popular,  but  its  principle  was 
inimical  to  the  general  good.  Benton  even 
considered  it  a  pernicious  violation  of  the 
Constitution.  Its  repeal  was  secured  the  fol 
lowing  year.  It  was  not  the  preemption  right 
alone  to  which  there  was  objection,  but  the 
state  guarantee.  Benton  defended  the  pre 
emption  principle  to  such  effect  that  ampli 
fied  rights  were  offered  in  the  enactment  of 
1841  called  the  "Preemption  Act,"  which 
made  land  available  even  for  aliens  declaring 
intention  of  citizenship. 

After  three  quarters  of  a  century  we  had 
begun  to  recognize  the  immigrant  as  a  suf- 


62  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

ficient  national  asset  to  permit  him  in  prin 
ciple  to  occupy  and  buy  land  with  the  rest 
of  us  from  the  Government,  on  decent  terms! 
Many  men,  like  Benton,  who  fought  for  the 
measure,  or  like  Grow,  who  watched  it,  were 
hopeful  that  it  would  induce  real  occupants 
to  take  tracts.  They  were  doomed  to  dis 
appointment.  It  never  proved  more  than 
partially  satisfactory  even  in  the  early  days. 
Its  two  leading  characteristics,  private  sale 
and  credit,  made  it  easy  of  abuse  by  the  mon 
eyed.  The  settler  must  live  on  the  land, 
according  to  the  provisions  of  the  bill,  in  order 
to  purchase  at  a  minimum  price  of  a  dollar 
and  a  quarter.  Too  often  his  occupancy  was 
a  complete  farce.  After  staying  overnight  in 
some  rude  shack  or  cabin,  the  claim  could  be 
filed  upon  whether  or  not  it  was  surveyed.  The 
advance  in  the  principle  of  the  bill  was  slight. 
Occurring  at  a  time  when  Grow  was  dis 
cussing  avidly  with  his  college  mates  major 
and  minor  affairs  of  public  policy,  this  act 
and  all  which  followed  in  the  ten  subsequent 
years  had  for  him  personal  significance. 
Young,  full  of  progressive  spirit,  he  argued 
ardently  the  right  of  the  Government  to  take 
advanced  social  ground  in  administering  its 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      63 

great  common  property.  He  was  imbued  with 
the  best  of  the  new  spirit  through  which  a 
great  nationalism  must  come  if  a  greater 
America  were  to  come.  And  as  Texas  was 
acquired,  several  years  later,  —  that  marvel 
ous  realm  we  took  from  Mexico,  —  and  Ore 
gon,  still  later,  Grow  became  completely  and 
enthusiastically  convinced  that  this  land,  held 
as  free  soil  and  well  distributed,  would  make 
a  huge  success  of  America,  whereas  slavery 
and  bad  distribution  might  ruin  us. 

"Galusha,"  remarked  a  friendly  black 
smith,  within  whose  hearing  he  expounded  his 
views,  "y°u  may  think  you  are  a  Democrat, 
but  if  you  go  on  talkin'  like  that,  you  won't 
stay  long  in  the  party!"  -  a  charge  which  he 
hotly  denied,  having  a  suspicion  the  while  that 
it  might  be  true. 

He  was  genuinely  glad  of  the  repeal  of  the 
Land  Act  of  1847,  which  had  pledged  the  na 
tional  lands  for  the  payment  of  certain  debts. 
A  federal  policy  of  internal  improvements, 
popular  during  the  late  twenties  and  early 
thirties,1  but  completely  losing  favor  by  1835, 
was  again  being  urged,  and  this  time  extend 
ing  beyond  roads,  railroads,  and  canals  to  the 
1  Haney,  Railroad  Grants. 


64  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

domain  itself.  McClernand  introduced  a  reso 
lution  that  the  traffic  in  public  lands  should 
cease  and  that  they  should  be  sold  to  settlers 
at  cost,  but  to  Grow's  disappointment  this 
was  never  formulated  into  law.  He  watched 
Congress  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  Commissioner 
of  the  General  Land  Office  when  he  recom 
mended  that  the  preemption  privilege  be 
granted  to  all  actual  settlers  on  the  public 
lands  whether  they  were  surveyed  or  not; 
but  took  hope  from  the  persistent  agitation. 
Although  the  aggressive  plough  furrowed 
ever  farther  westward,  nothing  more  was  ac 
complished  toward  the  real  solution  of  the 
settlers'  problem  for  several  years.  Up  to  this 
time  over  one  billion  acres  of  unoccupied  do 
main  had  been  exposed  to  the  greed  of  specu 
lators  and  monopolists.  Five  general  propo 
sitions  had  been  presented  to  the  country. 
W.  R.  W.  Cobb's  bill  for  the  reduction  and 
graduation  of  the  prices  of  lands  was  the 
type  of  one.  The  other  variously  formulated 
schemes  were:  cession  to  the  States  wherein 
they  lay;  partition  among  the  States;  dona 
tions  to  railroads,  canals,  and  so  forth;  and 
finally,  donation  to  every  occupant.  The  last 
plan  found  entire  favor  with  Grow. 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND       65 

Throughout  this  whole  period  the  experi 
ments  in  political  chemistry  were  most  inter 
esting.  Elements  were  being  gathered  and 
tried  out  which  would  flux  into  a  great  party. 
Issues  were  emerging  which  would  determine 
the  future  of  the  next  century  of  the  nation, 
none  more  persistent  than  the  demand  for 
lands  which  had  its  reflex  action  in  congres 
sional  bills.  The  Liberty  Party  and  the  fol 
lowers  of  Van  Buren  joined  and  called  them 
selves  the  Free-Soil  Party,  standing  for  "Free 
Soil,  Free  Speech,  Free  Labor,  and  Free  Men." 
They  nominated  Van  Buren  on  a  platform 
vigorously  protesting  against  slavery  which 
contained  these  famous  passages :  - 

Congress  has  no  more  power  to  make  a  slave 
than  to  make  a  king. 
A  free  soil  to  a  free  people. 

In  four  years  land  agitation  had  become  a 
potent  factor  in  American  politics.  Most  im 
portant  in  its  effect  on  the  public  mind  was 
the  measure  initiated  by  Greeley,  proposing 
to  discourage  speculation  and  secure  home 
stead  settlers  by  allowing  every  citizen  or 
applicant  for  citizenship  to  preempt  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  acres  on  which  he  might  live 
for  seven  years.  On  proving  that  he  had  lived 


66  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

on  the  land  he  was  to  receive  forty  acres  free 
if  married,  eighty  if  a  family  man,  and  the 
rest  he  might  buy  at  a  dollar  and  a  quarter 
an  acre  with  interest.  If  the  land  was  not  for 
the  individual's  own  use,  the  price  was  five 
dollars. 

"The  soundness  of  the  homestead  principle 
is  not  questioned  by  the  adversaries  of  the 
bill,"  Greeley  wrote.  "They  have  a  safer 
method  of  warfare.  No  bill  can  be  drawn  so 
as  to  hit  their  several  tastes  —  if  the  amount 
exempted  is  too  high  for  one,  it  is  too  low  for 
another.  A  secure  but  humble  home  to  every 
family  is  one  of  the  generous  aspirations  of 
a  Republican  polity."  The  bill  failed,  but  his 
prophecy  was  stirring  to  men  like  Grow,  who 
saw  before  them  good  work  to  be  done. 

Voting  for  Cass  for  President  and  Wilmot 
for  Congress  in  1848,  Grow  again  showed  his 
independence  of  Wilmot's  opinions.  Wilmot's 
choice,  Van  Buren,  did  not  receive  a  single 
electoral  vote,  although  he  had  nearly  three 
hundred  thousand  popular  votes.  In  1850, 
however,  there  was  a  wide  split  in  the  Demo 
cratic  Party  in  the  district,  James  Lowry 
leading  one  wing.  The  Free-Soilers  nomi 
nated  Wilmot  for  reelection,  while  the  Whigs 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      67 

nominated  John  C.  Adams,  of  Bradford 
County.  Wilmot  realized  that  defeat  was 
probable,  and  ten  days  before  the  election  the 
split  became  so  threatening,  in  spite  of  earnest 
endeavors  to  restore  harmony,  that  Wilmot 
and  Lowry  met  to  discuss  the  matter. 

It  is  typical  of  Wilmot  that  even  when  he 
was  ready  to  compromise,  he  was  nevertheless 
masterful.  He  told  Lowry  that  he  was  ready 
to  name  a  compromise  candidate,  as  other 
wise  the  chances  of  the  Whig  nominee  were 
very  high.  He  concluded,  however,  "But,  by 
G ,  I'm  to  name  the  man!" 

Lowry  submitted,  and  it  was  agreed  that  the 
convention  should  reassemble  and  nominate 
Grow,  passing  the  same  resolutions  which  were 
adopted  by  the  convention  which  nominated 
Wilmot. 

Grow  had  just  declined  a  unanimous  nomi 
nation  for  the  State  Legislature,  and  owing  to 
ill  health  was  at  this  time  rusticating  at  Glen- 
wood.  His  genial  oratory  was  very  welcome 
on  such  occasions  as  that  on  which  Tioga 
County  celebrated  in  honor  of  the  few  remain 
ing  Continental  soldiers  in  1849,  but  he  was 
comparatively  little  known  save  in  his  own 
neighborhood.  A  committee  of  two,  a  friend 


68  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

of  Wilmot  and  a  friend  of  Lowry,  came  to 
ascertain  if  Grow  would  accept  the  nomina 
tion  to  Congress.  This  occasioned  surprise 
among  his  Tunkhannock  neighbors,  who  were 
accustomed  to  see  him  working  day  by  day  on 
the  farm  with  no  thought  of  entering  public 
service  at  the  time  —  at  least  not  then.  They 
found  him  standing  in  the  waters  of  the  little 
river,  near  where  the  chapel  now  stands,  super 
intending  the  construction  of  a  bridge  across 
the  stream.  After  consulting  his  brother 
Frederick,  in  whose  judgment  he  reposed  per 
fect  confidence  and  who  must  have  possessed 
acumen,  he  accepted  with  the  understanding 
that  the  acceptance  was  to  be  in  accord  with 
the  views  of  his  friend,  David  Wilmot.  "From 
the  day  I  entered  his  law  firm  he  had  evinced 
true  interest  in  me  and  my  political  tenets," 
Grow  gratefully  wrote  long  after. 

Eight  days  before  the  election  he  hurried 
to  Tioga  County  and  explained  his  position 
on  the  questions  which  had  caused  a  rupture 
in  the  party.  At  the  time,  John  Van  Buren, 
son  of  the  former  President,  came  to  Susque- 
hanna  County  to  help  Wilmot,  and  finding 
that  he  was  out  of  the  race  took  the  stump 
for  Grow,  but  somewhat  ungraciously.  The 


THE  LAW  AND  THE  LAND      69 

election  ten  days  after  his  nomination  (Octo 
ber)  gave  Grow  a  majority  of  1200. 

During  the  winter,  until  March,  he  took  up 
the  compass  and  carried  it  during  a  survey  of 
six  thousand  acres.  His  accuracy  had  gained 
him  enviable  reputation  in  this  line.  In  the 
summer  of  1851,  and  at  times  during  the 
winter  and  summer  following,  the  Congress 
man-elect  worked  on  the  farm.  He  also  peeled 
hemlock  bark  for  a  tannery  which  had  been 
built  about  a  mile  from  Glenwood.  He  lived 
in  a  rough  hemlock-board  shanty  with  about 
thirty  other  men.  They  slept  in  straw  bunks 
on  the  floor.  At  this  time  he  challenged  the 
champion  bark-peeler  in  the  valley  to  a  match 
and  beat  him,  an  exploit  greatly  enjoyed  by 
the  countryside.  It  bespeaks  native  dignity 
when,  at  twenty-six  one  may  be  a  Congress 
man,  a  first-class  surveyor,  and  a  champion 
bark-spudder  at  one  and  the  same  time  with 
out  injury  to  any  reputation.  As  training  for 
a  congressional  career,  subsidiary  crafts,  the 
chief  principle  of  which  is  "  hewing  to  the  line  " 
with  all  one's  might  and  main,  are  not  to  be 
despised. 


CHAPTER  IV 

MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL  AND  MEN*S  RIGHTS 

WHEN  Grow  took  his  seat  as  the  youngest 
member  of  Congress  in  1851,  the  times  were 
pregnant  with  danger.  Land  was  more  than 
ever  the  ferment  in  every  situation.  The  cur 
tain  had  risen  on  the  first  of  five  great  extem 
poraneous  acts  in  the  Homestead  drama.  The 
curtain-raiser  in  the  Senate  the  previous  ses 
sion  had  focused  attention  of  Senators  from 
extremes  of  the  country.  Douglas  had  put  in 
a  straight  bill  for  free  grants.  Daniel  Webster 
and  General  Houston  put  in  homestead  reso 
lutions.  Webster  held  with  Greeley  that  every 
male  who  had  declared  his  intention  of  citi 
zenship  should  receive  title  to  a  quarter-sec 
tion  after  a  period  of  continuous  occupancy; 
Seward  and  Houston,  less  liberal,  would  have 
excluded  immigrants,  but  were  also  for  the 
policy.  Debate  had  been  active  but  not  acri 
monious. 

Already  alternatives  of  what  was  satirically 
dubbed  the  "  Vote-yourself -a-f arm  "  plan  were 
found  in  opposing  measures  to  cede  the  pub- 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     71 

lie  lands  to  the  States  in  which  they  lay  on 
condition  that  they  should  be  donated  to 
actual  settlers,  or  to  graduate  prices.  We  did 
not  know  what  we  had  power  to  do  with  the 
wonderful  territory  which  seemed  to  extend 
to  the  heart  of  the  sun's  western  rays.  It  was 
a  dead  weight.  Was  the  state  of  finances  dis 
cussed  in  Congress,  the  revenue  from  lands 
drew  attention;  was  even  the  necessity  of 
snagging  the  Mississippi  urged,  it  was  pro 
nounced  impolitic  to  appropriate  money  un 
til  some  conclusive  decision  had  been  taken 
concerning  our  attitude  on  internal  improve 
ments,  of  which  the  greatest  problem  was  the 
settling  of  the  domain  itself. 

Grow  was  strongly  of  the  mind  that  a  com 
prehensive  progressive  programme  of  land 
administration,  of  internal  development,  must 
be  adopted  to  weld  the  Union  more  firmly. 
The  hundreds  of  millions  of  acres  given  as 
bounties  had  not  in  the  main  served  as  a  pro 
motion  to  settlement.  The  would-be  occu 
pant,  he  who  should  have  been  the  most  de 
sirable  of  all  applicants,  was  exploited.  It 
was  notorious  that  the  system  of  land  sales 
had  become  media  for  transferring  land  into 
the  hands  of  capitalists,  who  made  a  fat  profit 


72  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

from  the  home-seeker  or  held  the  soil  idle.  A 
"lottery  system"  prevailed,  yet  the  land  itself 
was  calling.  Petitions  flooded  Congress,  sent 
in  by  thousands  who,  impelled  by  that  won 
derful  impulse  to  better  themselves  which 
has  been  so  amazing  a  factor  in  the  New 
World,  yearned  to  go  West.  But  —  was  the 
territory  we  had  acquired  to  be  slave  or  free, 
to  be  worked  as  plantations  or  by  individuals 
who  could  put  their  hearts  into  their  small 
plots;  to  be  donated  or  sold;  to  be  held  indefi 
nitely  or  lavished  on  corporations? 

The  persistent  opposition  in  the  South  to 
any  policy  which  tended  to  augment  the 
number  of  small  farms  was  due  to  the  knowl 
edge  that  slavery  could  not  thrive,  nor  sur 
vive,  in  regions  where  the  large  planter  had 
to  make  way  for  the  small  farmer,  and  their 
energetic  opposition  to  any  effort  to  open  the 
domain  to  homesteaders  left  all  queries  unan 
swered.  The  nature  of  the  occupation  of  the 
public  lands  was  inextricably  involved  with 
the  question  of  the  negro.  The  Clay  Compro 
mises,  dealing  with  the  new  terrain,  showed 
this.  They  contained  a  decision  upon  the 
owning  of  slaves  in  the  baby  State  of  Cali 
fornia  which  had  applied  for  admission,  and 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL      73 

passed  only  because  slavery  was  left  to  be 
settled  by  each  new  State  formed  out  of 
Texas.  The  South  was  placed  in  a  position  to 
obstruct  their  admission  unless  she  should  be 
awarded  her  share  of  slave  territory. 

Temporarily  stilling  the  spirit  of  sectional 
strife,  the  Clay  Compromises  could  not  affect 
the  powerful  unseen  undertow  in  the  current 
of  events  which  was  sweeping  the  nation 
slowly  but  surely  into  the  depths  of  civil  war. 
In  reality  the  most  startling  struggle  of  our 
national  life  was  on;  the  fight  over  the  Repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  in  fact  begun. 
"Bloody  Kansas"  was  in  the  early  throes  of 
her  bitter  struggle  against  the  encroachments 
of  slavery.  Pacific  Railroad  bills  backed  by 
powerful  lobbies  were  agitating  the  political 
sea,  and  anti-  and  pro-slavery  giants  were  only 
pausing  before  preparing  for  the  final  fray. 
Southern  members  of  Congress  calmly  asserted 
that  slaverv  must  expand;  Northern  members 
heatedly  answered  that  it  must  be  restricted 
or  die.  The  "irrepressible  conflict"  was  gath 
ering  momentum  under  a  guise  of  peace. 

Grow,  inexperienced,  excited  by  his  sudden 
exaltation  to  the  ranks  of  the  House,  sat 
silent  in  the  old  Hall.  With  no  belief  that  the 


74  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

deliberations  of  that  body  would  in  his  time 
be  riven  by  the  issue  of  slavery,  he  gave  him 
self  to  the  subject  of  land,  clearly  seeing  the 
entanglement  of  the  two  questions,  and  all  the 
more  resolved  to  do  his  part  toward  the  formu 
lation  of  a  clean-cut  policy  which  would  not 
agitate  the  negro  question.  He  knew,  as 
Woodrow  Wilson  has  since  so  wonderfully 
shown,  that  it  was  the  West  which  made  the 
public-land  question,  the  tariff  question,  and1* 
the  question  of  slavery  what  they  were.  Wilson 
says :  — 

Without  the  free  lands  to  which  every  man 
might  choose  to  go,  there  would  not  have  been 
that  easy  prosperity  of  life  and  that  high  standing 
of  abundance  which  seemed  to  render  it  necessary 
that,  if  we  were  to  have  manufactures  and  diversi 
fied  industry  at  all,  we  should  foster  new  under 
takings  by  a  system  of  protection  which  should 
make  the  profits  of  the  factory  as  certain  and 
abundant  as  the  profits  of  the  farm.  It  was  the 
constant  march  of  wagon  trains  to  the  West 
which  made  it  so  cardinal  a  matter  of  policy 
whether  the  national  domain  was  to  be  free  land 
or  not;  and  that  was  the  land  question. 

Whatever  might  be  said  for  the  several 
modes  proposed  for  the  settlement  of  the 
domain,  the  great  hope  lay,  Grow  was  con 
vinced,  in  the  homestead  principle,  so  formu- 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     75 

lated  that  we  should  allow  all  land  classified 
as  agricultural  to  be  entered,  make  fraud  and 
speculation  impossible,  and  get  immigrants 
upon  the  farms.  When  he  made  his  entry 
upon  the  cue  the  great  playwright,  Fortune, 
had  provided,  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee, 
held  the  floor  defending  a  homestead  bill  he 
had  proposed  six  months  after  Douglas's 
broad  measure  in  the  House. 

In  the  name  of  the  common  man,  Johnson 
had  come  forward  to  ask  recompense  for  the 
services  of  him  who  by  his  labor  quietly  and 
effectively  contributed  to  the  aims  of  govern 
ment.  Episodes  attending  the  measure's  pro 
posal  displayed  Johnson's  skill  at  parliamen 
tary  tactics,  which  procured  consideration  of 
his  plan  despite  the  adverse  tactics  of  foes  of 
the  policy.  Submitted  as  a  homestead  bill, 
objection  was  raised  when  it  was  moved  to 
send  it  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Expen 
ditures,  and  it  was  finally,  after  the  fashion 
of  unwelcome  proposals,  allowed  to  languish 
in  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands.  So  he 
shrewdly  changed  its  title,  re-introducing  it 
as  a  "bill  to  encourage  agriculture  and  for 
other  purposes,"  then  adroitly  added  its 
homestead  description,  a  roundabout  pro- 


76  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

cedure  which,  when  realized,  was  hotly  re 
sented  by  an  array  of  important-looking  men 
with  prominent  "speaking  parts." 

To  involve  only  those  lands  open  to  private 
entry,  the  measure  Johnson  offered  provided 
that  every  man  or  widow  over  twenty-five 
years  of  age  should  be  entitled  to  receive  free 
a  quarter-section  of  that  limited  amount  of 
land  "open  to  private  entry"  upon  condition 
of  continued  occupancy.1  At  first  the  bill 
read  so  that  immigrants  might  have  benefited, 
but  later  Johnson  asserted  that  his  aim  was 
solely  to  alleviate  poverty  among  American 
workingmen.  He  restricted  its  application  to 
those  already  in  the  country  at  the  time  of 
passage,  which  rendered  the  scope  of  the 
measure's  operation  narrow  if  beneficent. 

Even  with  this  change,  the  Southern  dele 
gation  was  not  attracted  by  Johnson's  angle 
of  presentation.  Johnson  was  not  of  the  type 
to  find  favor  among  the  aristocratic  planta 
tion  men.  He  did  not  represent  them.  He  had 
been  driven  from  his  native  State  of  North 
Carolina  by  want  of  opportunity,  and,  with 
only  a  trade  and  a  self -administered  education, 

1  No  lands  were  subject  to  private  entry  until  after  they 
had  been  surveyed,  brought  into  market,  advertised,  and 
offered  for  sale  at  public  auction. 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     77 

had  won  his  way  up.  He  held  his  seat  as  the 
honored  representative  of  the  un-landed  and 
less  affluent  whites  of  the  upland  districts. 
Naturally,  his  point  of  view  so  differed  that 
his  Southern  colleagues  instinctively  distrusted 
his  leadership,  and,  challenging,  were  not  re 
assured  to  find  that  Johnson  had  in  his  mind 
something  not  unlike  our  modern  idea  of 
redistribution  of  property.  To  this  end  he 
thought  the  division  of  some  part  of  our  gov 
ernment  lands  among  actual  settlers  would 
be  an  excellent  means.  Some  of  his  Demo 
cratic  confreres  laid  hold  of  any  convenient 
means  to  combat  the  bill. 

Grow,  determined  to  speak  first  upon  this 
great  issue,  was  destined  first  to  talk  upon 
another  matter.  Fate,  or  his  whole-hearted 
humanity,  caused  him  to  come  to  the  defense 
of  the  Hungarian  patriot,  Louis  Kossuth. 
The  latter  had  been  imprisoned  in  an  Aus 
trian  dungeon  because  he  had  attempted  to 
relieve  his  country  from  oppression.  Escaping, 
he  had  fled  with  comrades  to  Turkey,  where 
they  underwent  terrible  hardships,  ended  only 
by  the  United  States  giving  them  passage  to 
America  in  a  national  vessel  in  the  belief  that 
they  wished  to  adopt  our  land  as  a  home. 


78  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

In  reality,  Kossuth  wished  to  awaken  sym 
pathy  for  his  unhappy  Hungary  and  to  in 
duce  both  England  and  the  United  States 
to  put  themselves  on  record  as  against  the 
intervention  of  Russia  in  Hungary's  affairs. 
A  resolution  was  offered  late  one  night  in  the 
House  extending  a  welcome  to  Kossuth  and 
proposing  his  introduction  to  that  body. 

One  of  the  notably  interesting  figures  among 
Virginia's  Representatives,  Fayette  McMul- 
len,  opposed  its  adoption  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  a  piece  of  impudence  for  a  foreign  rebel 
to  come  here  and  ask  for  sympathy,  and  that 
it  was  totally  contrary  to  all  precedent  for 
the  United  States  to  take  a  stand  protesting 
against  international  affairs  on  the  Continent 
in  which  she  had  no  immediate  concern. 

Grow  was  stirred.  He  was  sitting  but  a 
short  distance  from  McMullen.  On  hearing 
the  argument,  he  rose,  impetuously. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  replying  [he  said  as  soon 
as  he  could  obtain  the  floor]  ...  He  [Kossuth] 
comes  here  advocating  the  rights  of  crushed  hu 
manity  and  the  cause  of  his  native  land,  and  asks 
the  American  people  for  their  aid  against  the 
despots  of  his  country.  He  asks  them,  as  men 
standing  in  the  shadow  of  Washington,  to  consider 
the  cause  of  humanity,  and  for  this  he  is  charged 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     79 

with  "impudence."  ...  If  this  be  impudence,  in 
what  way  would  you  have  an  apostle  of  liberty 
appeal  for  the  sympathy  and  aid  of  a  people  whose 
country  has  drank  the  life-blood,  not  only  of  its 
own  martyrs,  but  of  every  clime?  Is  it  "impudent" 
to  stand  up  in  the  face  of  nations  and  advocate  the 
conscious  rights  of  man?  Is  it  "impudent"  for  the 
representative  of  a  brave  people  to  present  the 
claims  of  his  fatherland,  and  to  the  sympathy  of 
the  descendants  of  Washington,  Franklin,  and 
Jefferson?  —  to  a  country  that  in  its  hour  of  peril 
received  the  aid  of  Lafayette  and  DeKalb,  and 
whose  soil  holds  the  ashes  of  Kosciusko  and 
Steuben? 

So  generously  did  he  urge  that  the  decision 
of  the  House  be  based  on  humanities  rather 
than  on  precedents  of  our  international  policy, 
and  press  the  claims  of  Kossuth  to  consider 
ation  as  a  private  citizen,  that  his  defense 
was  the  occasion  of  many  private  congratu 
lations  and  of  a  general  recognition  of  his 
ability.  Benton,  Wade,  Giddings,  and  many 
other  men  of  power  sought  him  out,  and 
the  resolution  passed  by  a  substantial  major 
ity.  He  had  used  the  psychological  moment 
promptly  and  well,  prompted  by  sheer  good 
feeling,  and  the  pretty  incident  entitled  him 
to  sure  attention  in  the  Chamber  on  his  next 
address. 


80  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

In  the  Senate,  Seward  similarly  defended 
Kossuth,  who  was  accorded  his  reception  in 
both  chambers.  Grow  was  gratified  to  see  him 
conducted  with  honor  down  the  center  aisle  of 
the  House  to  a  place  inside  the  bar,  where  he 
delivered  an  eloquent  address  received  with 
enthusiasm  by  the  Northern  members.  The 
man  of  the  hour  for  a  time,  Kossuth 's  fervid 
appeals,  his  quaint  Shakespearian  diction,  his 
whole  personality,  fascinated.  Several  days 
after  his  reception  a  banquet  was  tendered 
him  at  the  National  Hotel,  which  was  one  of 
the  gala  events  of  the  year.  Vice-President 
King  presided  with  Kossuth  on  his  right  and 
Webster,  then  Secretary  of  State,  on  his  left. 
Grow  was  honored  by  a  seat  at  the  speakers' 
table,  and  his  long  remembrance  of  the  fact 
testifies  that  it  meant  much  to  him. 

Grow  had  his  first  big  scene  in  the  Home 
stead  play,  when  (March  30,  1852)  he  deliv 
ered  his  keynote  address  —  his  first  planned 
effort,  to  which  he  always  therefore  referred 
as  his  "maiden  speech."  It  constituted  a  con 
troversial  lead  to  his  ardent  and  finally  suc 
cessful  fight  for  the  establishment  of  an  equit 
able  policy  of  land  distribution.  Involving 
many  questions  to  be  decided  for  the  country, 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     81 

the  policy  so  far  was  hall-marked  neither  by 
party  nor  by  sectional  bias.  The  lawyers' 
question  of  constitutionality  was  of  first 
moment  in  all  issues  at  this  time.  Advocates 
of  the  homestead  had  particularly  to  fight  a 
lack  of  precedent  for  direct  federal  grants. 
Free  grants  of  sorts  had  been  awarded  to 
settlers  since  the  earliest  times,  and  in  the 
Oregon  Land  Act  of  1850  were  again  offered 
through  state  channels.  Among  members  from 
all  sections  and  all  parties  there  was  difference 
of  opinion  on  the  proprietary  rights  of  the 
Government  in  land  "acquired  of  the  blood 
and  treasure  of  all  the  States,"  as  well  as  the 
power  of  Congress  to  give  it  away. 

Furthermore,  the  South  was  in  something 
of  a  corner.  Consistent  protest  was  impossible 
because  she  had  succeeded  in  passing  within 
five  years  an  act  which  ceded  back  to  the 
Central  and  Southern  States  27,300,000  acres 
of  overflowed  lands,  worth  at  that  time 
$25,000,000.  Granted  because  of  the  need  of 
reclaiming  surrounding  property, —  in  other 
words,  for  the  purpose  of  internal  improve 
ment,  —  this  act  served  as  slight  but  distinct 
precedent.  If  alienation  of  federal  lands  for 
such  an  object  was  feasible,  grants  for  other 


82  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

worthy  reasons  were  feasible.  If  Congress 
could  benefit  a  small  group  of  States  while, 
as  a  Southern  member  protested,  "the  other 
nineteen  States  did  not  receive  enough  soil 
on  which  to  sprout  a  pea!"  then  there  was  no 
merit  in  the  idea  that  the  Government  had 
no  power  to  dispose  of  lands.  Bounties  to 
soldiers,  grants  to  railroads  and  insane  asy 
lums,  strengthened  the  case. 

On  the  great  constitutional  question  Grow 
recited  the  authority  of  the  Government  to 
dispose  of  the  domain;  the  clause  which  pro 
vides  that  Congress  shall  have  the  right  "to 
dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules  and 
regulations  concerning  the  territory  and  other 
property  of  the  United  States."  This,  he  held, 
imposed  as  a  duty  upon  Congress  "to  pro 
mote  the  real  and  permanent  interests  of  the 
United  States."  It  was  certainly  important 
economic  work  to  secure  actual  settlers  at  a 
price  barely  sufficient  to  cover  the  cost  of 
survey  and  transfer,  with  such  limitations  and 
restrictions  as  to  prevent  the  land  falling  into 
the  hands  of  speculators.  Occupancy,  not  sale, 
was  of  supreme  importance,  he  argued  effec 
tively,  pointing  out  that  the  settler  performed 
invaluable  labor  for  which  the  Government 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     83 

could  not  afford  to  do  otherwise  than  pay 
justly  by  title  to  the  land.  He  looked  upon 
the  soldier  of  peace,  foregoing  his  native  en 
vironment  to  join  the  economic  army,  as  serv 
ing  his  country  in  no  less  immeasurably  fine 
a  way  than  the  soldier  who  went  to  battle. 

Principle,  expediency,  protection,  and  ul 
timate  increase  in  revenues  demanded  this 
policy.  Receipts  from  the  direct  sale  of  public 
lands,  Grow  showed,  were  already  in  excess 
of  what  they  had  cost  us  originally  and  the 
States  had  no  ground  for  complaint.  Whereas 
Johnson  put  the  homestead  plan  forward  as  a 
measure  of  paternalistic  welfare  work,  Grow 
asserted  that  men  had  actual  right  to  com 
mon  lands.  Bitterly  controversial  argument 
was  contained  in  his  broadly  stated  general 
belief  in  the  inherent  rights  of  man  to  the  soil. 
Beyond  the  expediencies  and  forms  of  civiliza 
tion,  by  the  fundamental  values  of  the  mat 
ter,  the  use  and  occupancy  of  land  alone 
should  give  a  man,  to  use  the  language  of 
Blackstone,  "an  exclusive  right  to  retain  in  a 
permanent  manner  that  specific  land  which 
before  belonged  generally  to  everybody  but 
particularly  to  nobody";  and  he  quoted  from 
the  same  source,  "There  is  no  foundation  in 


84  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

nature  or  natural  law  why  a  set  of  words  on 
parchment  should  convey  the  dominion  of 
land."  Or,  as  Jefferson  stated  it  from  another 
angle,  "the  earth  belongs  in  usufruct  to  the 
living." 

Throwing  himself  into  his  humanitarian 
plea,  Grow  urged  that  happy  firesides  would 
follow  the  liberal  policy  of  providing  farm 
steads,  and  that  "as  the  means  of  sustaining 
life  are  derived  almost  entirely  from  the  soil, 
every  person  has  a  right  to  so  much  of  the 
earth's  surface  as  is  necessary  to  his  support. 
To  whatever  unoccupied  portion  of  it,  there 
fore,  he  shall  apply  his  labor  for  that  purpose, 
from  that  time  forth  it  should  become  appro 
priated  to  his  exclusive  use;  and  whatever 
improvements  he  may  make  by  his  industry 
should  become  his  property  and  subject  to  his 
disposal.  For  the  only  true  foundation  for 
any  right  to  property  is  man's  labor." 

Heterodoxy  itself  could  not  have  been  re 
ceived  with  more  derision  than  this  coura 
geously  applied  doctrine !  Socialism  never  had 
a  harder  road  to  travel.  Attack  was  instan 
taneous.  A  humanist  idea,  whatever  its  merits, 
it  represented  honest  belief  that  labor,  once, 
in  the  words  of  Adam  Smith,  the  original  pur- 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     85 

chase  money  paid  for  all  things,  should  serve 
in  place  of  currency.  The  progressivism  of 
the  hour,  it  received  the  traditional  quota  of 
stormy  protest. 

Grow  accepted  attack  stanchly  and  receded 
not  a  point.  Backing  came  to  him  slowly. 
Most  of  the  dramatis  personce  of  the  Home 
stead  play  at  this  time  made  their  bows  to 
the  audience.  Notably  several  men  appeared 
as  friends  of  Johnson,  Grow,  and  the  bill,  who 
became,  as  the  action  developed,  hidden  or 
open  enemies.  Two  important  characters  of 
this  ilk  were  Robert  W.  Johnson,  of  Arkansas, 
and  Cobb,  of  Alabama,  both  pledged  knights 
of  a  landed  aristocracy.  Yet  Johnson  declared 
that  he  deemed  giving  land  to  the  landless 
glorious  in  itself,  while  Cobb  announced  that 
he  had  promised  his  constituents  to  introduce 
the  homestead  measure  himself  if  Andrew 
Johnson  did  not  do  it! 

When  the  many  players  in  this  spectacular 
show  had  spoken  introductory  lines,  the  action 
began  to  quicken.  There  were  sharp  incidents 
like  the  conflict  between  McMullen,  now 
standing  on  common  ground  with  Grow  and 
Johnson,  and  his  two  Virginia  colleagues, 
Averett  and  Millson,  who  at  this  early  day 


86  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

were  irrevocably  opposed  to  the  measure. 
The  South  was  in  a  predicament  of  incon 
sistency,  because  of  the  Swamp  Lands  Bill. 
Averett  deliberately  turned  his  back  on  his 
own  vote  and  declared  the  proposed  donation 
would  be  in  violation  of  all  our  principles. 
Millson,  on  the  other  hand,  acknowledging 
the  mistake  (from  the  States'  rights  angle)  of 
the  Swamp  Lands  Act,  invited  and  received 
Johnson's  sharp  rebuke  for  commenting  that 
he  had  looked  upon  this  new  land  bill  as  a 
"practical  jest,  a  burlesque  upon  those  extrav 
agant  propositions  which  sometimes  reached 
the  House." 

To  this  controversy  members  from  Maine 
and  Massachusetts  added  their  voices  —  the 
East  was  strongly  inclined  to  be  jealous  of 
the  West  and  so  stood  with  the  South  —  plead 
ing  that  the  domain  constituted  a  fund  from 
which  each  State  should  receive  an  equitable 
portion.  One  Massachusetts  member  even 
introduced  a  counter-measure  intended  to 
force  the  constitutional  issue,  providing  that 
the  Government  should  repay  to  his  Com 
monwealth  her  share  of  expenses  in  the  late 
war  with  Great  Britain.  So  ardent  was  the 
argument  that  Alexander  Stephens,  who,  un- 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     87 

like  most  Whigs,  did  not  strongly  uphold  the 
constitutional  power  to  appropriate  lands  and 
money  for  internal  improvement,  predicted 
that  this  issue  would  soon  become  a  control 
ling  factor  in  politics. 

Johnson,  expounding  and  defending  his  own 
measure,  kept  pretty  well  in  the  center  of  the 
stage.  Not  realizing  that  the  weakest  point 
of  his  plea  was  the  benevolent  argument  for 
alleviation  of  poverty,  he  emphasized  that 
"it  had  long  been  near  his  heart  to  see  every 
man  in  the  United  States  domiciled."  He  in 
telligently  urged  the  authority  of  Congress  to 
act  and  pictured  the  ultimate  great  revenue 
which  must  be  derived  from  increased  imports 
once  the  land  was  populated  by  producing, 
spending  workers.  He  had  both  sentimental 
and  economic  appeals  in  his  favor.  The  word 
"home"  had  a  pull.  Good  business  reasons 
tempted  sane  expenditure  of  public  terrain 
as  business  investment.  Johnson  avowed  that 
it  was  his  "one  great  object  to  pass  the  bill 
in  form  acceptable  to  the  country." 

The  thrilling  moments  of  this  first  period 
of  action  occurred  after  the  bill  had  progressed 
almost  to  a  vote.  Out  of  hosts  of  minor  ones, 
an  unprecedented  amendment  was  offered  by 


88  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Brown,  of  Mississippi,  which  was  to  change 
the  bill  altogether  and  create  a  tenancy  sys 
tem  for  preemptors,  affording  them  a  right 
to  purchase  after  a  period  of  years  of  free 
occupancy.  In  reality  this  proposal  would 
create  a  pernicious  government  vassalage. 
Not  so  much  because  the  idea  was  popular  as 
because  it  offered  a  diversion  from  Johnson's 
scheme,  Brown  executed  a  clever  maneuver. 
At  a  time  when  there  were  but  few  members 
in  the  Chamber,  he  pushed  his  amendment 
as  a  substitute  for  the  body  of  Johnson's  bill 
and  secured  a  vote  in  his  favor  of  67  to  56, 
entirely  annulling  the  homestead  plan. 

This  was  profoundly  serious.  Homestead 
advocates  bestirred  themselves.  A  member 
who  had  not  had  a  chance  to  vote  charged 
a  mistake  in  counting.  A  recount  was  de 
manded,  and  wrangled  over  with  much  con 
sumption  of  time,  to  be  finally  refused.  Mean 
while  hasty  scouring  about  for  absentees  went 
on.  By  the  time  the  Chairman  had  succeeded 
in  getting  his  position  upheld,  Johnson  was 
in  a  position  to  end  the  suspense.  He  had 
enough  votes  to  displace  the  amendment  and 
secure  the  reinstatement  of  the  body  of  his 
bill  as  a  new  amendment,  the  vote  being  97 


MAN'S  RIGHT  TO  THE  SOIL     89 

to  77.  Shortly  after,  in  May,  1852,  his  bill 
passed  the  House  with  more  than  261  majority, 
owing  to  the  popularity  of  the  idea  alone. 

The  Senate  presented  a  different  situation 
The  upper  and  lower  Houses  were  distinctly 
opposed.  Southern  Senators — landlords  all- 
stuck  together  in  their  dislike  of  the  propo 
sal  and  were  determinedly  obstructive.  Also, 
reasons  of  expediency  caused  those  in  charge 
of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Bill  to  hold  back  any 
other  measure  in  which  a  grant  of  land  was 
involved  until  their  own  avaricious  demands 
should  be  satisfied.  Being  in  the  majority,  the 
Democrats  contrived  to  give  the  Homestead 
Bill  short  shrift.  A  substitute  for  the  Johnson 
Bill  was  tacked  on  the  railroad  measure,  but 
was  not  accepted.  Johnson's  sympathizers  in 
the  Senate  had  no  confidence  of  success  at 
this  session. 

In  general,  failure  to  conceive  the  stupen 
dous  nationalization  we  must  undergo  was  the 
serious  fault  in  Congress.  Population  was  a 
national  need;  development  a  national  de 
mand;  the  pressure  of  industry  a  national 
condition.  If  ceded  back  to  them,  States 
could  not  uniformly  and  competently  handle 
the  domain  so  effectively  as  could  a  central 


90  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

government,  were  federal  powers  assured.  It 
was  plainly  a  common  job,  better  done  by  the 
agent  of  all  the  States  in  common,  the  Gov 
ernment  to  which  the  people  had  delegated 
their  natural  rights  and  conferred  authority 
over  the  soil.  Yet  those  jealous  of  States' 
rights  (which  Hamilton  had  declared  would 
more  easily  encroach  on  national  authorities 
than  vice  versa)  persistently  contended  that  no 
adequate  authority  existed  for  federal  action. 
Men  willing  to  work  for  some  broad  plan 
were  not  lacking.  And  there  was  no  more 
serious  advocate  than  Grow,  rising  in  emi 
nence  and  beginning  to  feel  versed  in  legisla 
tive  custom.  None  could  have  had  at  heart 
more  closely  the  interest  of  the  pioneer  of 
whatever  degree  or  nationality.  Added  force 
at  the  service  of  the  nation,  represented  by 
the  symbolic,  willing  shoulders  of  all  settlers, 
alien  or  native,  generously  treated  and  pro 
tected,  was  the  end  to  which  he  was  looking, 
and  already  he  strove  earnestly  to  perfect  a 
new  bill  which  he  hoped  would  do  broader 
constructive  work  than  the  proposal  which 
had  now  gained  recognition  in  one  House. 


CHAPTER  V 

NEW   RELATIONSHIPS 

GROW'S  appreciation  of  the  new  world  which 
he  had  entered  could  scarcely  have  been  ex 
ceeded.  He  was  vastly  interested  in  every 
phase  of  congressional  action  and  life.  The 
manner  of  procedure,  his  friendships,  the 
standards  of  conduct,  the  organic  life  of 
Washington,  all  opened  new  and  fascinating 
doors  to  him,  whose  experience  to  this  time 
had  been  built  on  the  simple  customs  of  a 
well-to-do  countryside  where  real  American 
ability  was  the  main  gauge  of  men  and 
women. 

The  House  of  Representatives  from  1851 
to  1863  was  the  scene  of  many  memorable 
conflicts,  or  "personal  uprisings,"  as  Grow 
called  them.  When  he  first  entered  Congress, 
until  he  became  accustomed  to  the  rough-and- 
tumble  debates  on  the  slavery  question,  he 
was  amazed  at  the  free  use  of  epithets  and 
other  unparliamentary  methods  of  gaining 
one's  effect.  The  acrimonious  discussions  on 
questions  of  expansion  gave  rise  to  passions 


92  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

which  required  more  control  than  certain 
fire-eating  members  possessed.  Grow  had 
hardly  taken  his  seat  when  Albert  G.  Brown, 
of  Mississippi,  a  States'  rights  member,  de 
nied  that  the  South  was  in  favor  of  seces 
sion.  Whereupon  John  A.  WTilcox,  a  Union 
Whig  from  the  same  State,  intimated  in  plain 
language  that  a  certain  congressional  district 
in  their  State  was  against  the  Union.  Brown 
denied  this,  and  Wilcox  challenged:  "What 
you  say  is  false."  Brown  rushed  at  Wilcox 
and  dealt  him  a  blow  in  the  face.  A  hand- 
to-hand  combat  ensued  in  which  chairs  and 
desks  were  overturned,  and  when  the  fight 
was  closed  by  the  interference  of  other  mem 
bers,  the  area  covered  by  the  conflict  looked 
as  though  an  earthquake  had  occurred. 

Grow  could  not  sympathize  with  this  sort 
of  thing,  although  later  he  was  to  have  ex 
perience  which  taught  him  that  it  was  not 
easily  avoidable.  What  was  more,  he  warmly 
deplored  the  slavery  discussion,  which  per 
sisted.  Trusting  calmly  in  the  efficacy  of  the 
Clay  Compromises,  young  at  politics,  believ 
ing  in  the  comparative  quiet,  he  detected  but 
scouted  numerous  symptoms  of  danger  ahead 
plainly  to  be  seen,  and  in  this  he  had  much 


NEW  RELATIONSHIPS  93 

company  among  men  who  had  every  reason 
to  be  considered  astute. 

Franklin  Pierce,  achieving  the  nomination 
for  the  Presidency,  seems  to  have  had  decid 
edly  more  caution,  not  to  say  misgivings, 
which  were  at  variance  with  his  public  utter 
ances.  Before  the  election  he  was  desirous 
of  ascertaining  the  present  condition  of  the 
political  weather  and  a  forecast.  He  wrote  to 
Governor  Bigler,  of  Pennsylvania,  requesting 
him  confidentially  to  get  Wilmot's  views  as 
to  the  way  the  Free-Soil  element  would  vote 
for  President  in  the  northern  counties.  The 
Governor  enclosed  Pierce's  letter  with  a  con 
fidential  note  to  Wilmot  asking  him  to  write 
a  private  letter  that  he  could  forward  to 
Pierce. 

In  compliance,  Wilmot  predicted  that  the 
vote  of  the  Free-Soilers  in  the  northern  tier 
would  probably  be  cast  with  the  two  parties 
of  their  own  affiliations;  that  while  the  Com 
promise  measures  passed  in  1850  had  produced 
a  lull  in  the  slavery  agitation  it  would  break 
out  again,  but  in  what  form  he  could  not 
foretell. 

The  Whigs  [wrote  Wilmot,  in  an  interesting  vein 
of  analytical  prophecy  showing  acumen  concern- 


94  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

ing  the  false  serenity  which  veiled  the  serious  dis 
orders  of  the  time]  are  now  substantially  a  Free- 
Soil  party  and  would  resist  any  further  aggression 
of  the  slave  power;  but  if  they  succeed  in  electing 
a  president  they  would  be  pro-slavery,  as  is  the 
Democratic  Party.  So  long  as  they  are  out  they 
will  be  an  anti-slavery  party.  Thus  .  .  .  there  will 
be  an  organized  political  nucleus  for  the  Free-Soil 
elements  of  the  free  States  to  fall  back  upon  in  this 
contest.  We  Free-Soilers  of  the  northern  counties 
will  therefore  probably  vote  for  Pierce  in  this  elec 
tion,  not  because  we  believe  in  him,  but  because 
in  our  judgment  it  is  the  wisest  course  to  prepare 
for  the  conflict  which  must  come  upon  the  exten 
sion  of  slavery  in  this  country. 

Grow,  returning  home,  was  renominated 
without  serious  difficulty,  although  the  de 
bates  in  his  own  county  were  very  warm  and 
the  day  was  not  past  when  rough  handling  and 
liquor  were  resorted  to  by  an  aggressive  oppo 
sition.  He  threw  himself  into  the  canvass, 
making  speeches  as  he  did  everything  else, 
with  a  vim  and  a  will ;  driving  good  horses, 
which  he  loved,  to  the  various  rallies.  Be 
tween  times,  he  could  take  off  his  coat  and 
take  hold  of  plough  or  axe,  "  which  gave  him 
bone  and  muscle  and  left  his  republican  prin 
ciples  uncontaminated."  This  energy  marked 
the  difference  between  a  "working  and  a 


NEW   RELATIONSHIPS  95 

talking  politician."  Not  especially  a  "mixer," 
he  won  the  good  wishes  of  his  public  by  his 
consistent,  active,  conquering  certainty.  He 
vigorously  advocated  the  Homestead  propo 
sition  and  he  asserted  his  devotion  to  the 
pledge  adopted  at  the  Baltimore  Convention, 
"  to  resist  all  attempts  at  renewing,  in  Con 
gress  or  out  of  it,  the  agitation  on  the  slavery 
question,  under  whatever  shape  or  color  the 
attempt  may  be  made." 

Called  by  his  constituents  in  homely,  affec 
tionate  parlance  the  "Bark-spudder,"  his  vic 
torious  campaign  had  its  solid  satisfactions. 
This  election,  in  which  Pierce  also  was  suc 
cessful,  brought  back  to  the  House  friends 
of  particular  importance  to  Grow.  Giddings, 
who  had  greeted  Grow  with  the  greatest 
cordiality  upon  his  entry  into  Congress,  a 
celebrity  because  of  the  Creole  case  and  the 
fight  he  had  made  in  connection  with  it  upon 
slavery  while  Grow  was  in  college,  had  proved 
sympathetic  upon  the  land  legislation.  He 
was  more  than  willing  to  support  Grow,  as 
was  Lovejoy,  the  brother  of  that  Elijah  Love- 
joy  whose  tragic  death  at  the  hands  of  a  mob 
had  so  stirred  Grow's  indignation  long  before. 
Owen  Lovejoy  was  an  anti-slavery  man,  and  a 


96  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

natural  agitator,  anxious  to  leave  no  task  un 
done  which  would  help  to  block  the  lodgment 
of  that  terrible  institution  in  our  free  territory. 

Salmon  P.  Chase  was  a  good  friend,  too,  and 
his  sympathies  were  to  be  depended  upon. 
Grow  looked  upon  him  as  one  of  the  mighty 
in  those  days.  A  Democrat  who  had  acted 
with  the  Liberty  Party  and  the  Free-Soilers, 
Chase  was  sent  back  to  the  Senate  by  that  not 
infrequent  but  still  interesting  coalition  of  the 
Free-Soil  men  and  the  Union  Democrats.  In 
that  time  of  political  flux  Chase  loomed  a  large 
and  able  figure,  and  served  as  a  stimulus  to 
Grow. 

Ben  Wade,  who  had  entered  the  Senate  the 
year  that  Grow  entered  the  House,  bluff  in 
manner  and  rugged  in  character,  was  very 
comradely.  Although  Grow  never  became  re 
signed  to  Wade's  vocabulary  of  profane  words, 
which  was  both  unique  and  startling,  he  said 
that  his  robust  and  hearty  use  of  them  seemed 
somewhat  to  lessen  their  profane  effect.  They 
were  most  often  used  in  connection  with 
his  profound  contempt  for  artifice  and  sham. 
This  Grow  shared. 

Unmarried,  with  none  to  do  the  honors  for 
him,  Grow  lived  very  obscurely  in  Washington 


NEW  RELATIONSHIPS  97 

in  a  boarding-house,  partly  because,  as  he  ex 
pressed  it,  "Speaking  in  the  open  air  a  great 
deal  superinduced  a  pestiferous  bronchial  af 
fection  which  finally  clasped  hands  with  an 
old-fashioned  dyspepsia,  and  the  two  together, 
in  spite  of  my  six-foot-two  and  strong  wiry 
frame,  forced  me  to  live  like  a  monk  all  through 
my  life  there.  This  led  some  to  believe  I  was 
odd  and  in  a  way  affected.  But,  after  all,  my 
absence  from  society  was  not  a  great  depriva 
tion,  for  I  never  liked  those  social  functions 
which  seemed  to  lack  real  sincerity.  Wade 
once  said  to  me,  'Grow,  this  society  business 
amuses  me.  They  send  a  servant  to  drop  a 
pasteboard  in  your  card-basket  as  a  visit  when 
you  are  living  and  send  a  negro  with  an  empty 
carriage  to  your  house  when  you  are  dead ! ' ' 

Wade's  comments  were  a  source  of  much 
delight.  In  conversation  his  repartee  was  de 
lightful.  "Tall,  clean,  amiable-looking,"  as 
one  commentator  describes  him,  he  was  feared 
in  debate  because  of  his  biting  sarcasm  and 
fierce  invective,  and  he  was  desperately  frank. 
His  combination  of  qualities  was  to  be  of  the 
greatest  use  to  Grow  later. 

The  changes  in  the  House  and  Senate  were 
not  less  significant  to  Grow's  future  than  were 


98  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  retentions.  Two  leading  land  advocates 
dropped  from  the  field.  There  was  better  op 
portunity  for  new  figures  to  be  seen.  Andrew 
Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  did  not  come  back  to 
the  House,  and  the  great  agitator  on  the  topic 
who  held  over  from  that  epoch  of  big  debates 
in  1830,  Thomas  H.  Benton,  contemporary  of 
Webster  and  Hayne,  was  no  longer  in  the 
Senate. 

Benton  was  a  figure  of  national  interest. 
Missouri  had  sent  him  to  the  Senate  for  thirty 
years.  Being  defeated  at  last  in  the  senatorial 
race,  he  had  come  as  Representative  when 
Grow  entered  upon  his  second  term  in  the 
House;  but  he  had  become  unpopular  in  his 
own  State  —  where  there  were  twenty-five 
thousand  bondsmen  —  because  of  his  opposi 
tion  to  slavery  extension,  and  in  the  next  cam 
paign  he  was  again  defeated.  Deeply  imbued 
with  the  land  passion,  associate  of  trappers, 
traders,  and  explorers  who  gave  him  a  pro 
found  knowledge  of  the  Northwest,  he  left  a 
very  great  gap  in  the  ranks  of  the  men  who 
were  particularly  identified  with  the  land  in 
terest  in  Congress. 

Benton  returned  to  Washington,  however, 
after  his  defeat  for  the  governorship  of  Mis- 


NEW  RELATIONSHIPS  99 

souri  in  1856,  and  lived  there  till  his  death  in 
1858.  Attracted  to  Grow  from  the  first  time 
he  voiced  his  theory  of  man's  right  to  the  soil, 
himself  standing  for  the  freedom  of  the  do 
main  and  clearly  seeing  new  fields  which  the 
American  pioneer  must  attack,  he  encouraged 
Grow,  doubtless  accepting  him  as  an  admir 
able  instrument  of  accomplishment.  His  quar 
ters  were  near  Grow's  lodgings  and  they  were 
in  daily  communication  with  each  other.  Ben- 
ton  had  settled  down  for  the  purpose  of  hav 
ing  easy  access  to  the  records  of  the  Senate 
and  House  while  writing  his  "Thirty  Years' 
View."  He  felt  the  burden  of  his  task  and 
expressed  it  to  his  young  friend.  "Grow,  I  am 
in  my  seventy-third  year,  and  I  must  labor 
hard  and  swift  to  complete  the  task  I  set  out 
to  do.  I  can't  get  up  to  Congress  very  often  to 
take  in  the  news  and  gossip  of  the  day,  and  if 
you  will  call  now  and  then  and  bring  all  the 
information  of  interest  you  can  gather,  I  will 
be  very  grateful  to  you." 

Because  Benton  understood  the  things 
which  were  next  to  Grow's  heart  and  valued 
his  judgment,  and  because  Grow  had  always 
looked  upon  Benton  as  one  of  the  country's 
great  men,  Grow  found  him  a  thrilling  com- 


100  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

panion  and  invaluable  teacher.  He  looked  to 
the  older  man  for  analysis  of  men,  motives, 
and  affairs  then  and  later,  appreciating  his 
great  qualities  as  a  statesman  no  less  than 
his  shrewd  insight  and  keen  humor,  occasion 
ally  touched  with  malice. 

Benton  was  a  Jeffersonian  Democrat,  a 
strict-constructionist,  a  vigorous  defender  of 
his  convictions,  a  lifelong  friend  of  the  Union, 
and  a  most  intense  hater  of  his  political  foes. 
An  early  encounter  with  Andrew  Jackson,  an 
other  with  Foote,  in  the  forties,  and  his  con 
tinued  opposition  to  the  great  triumvirate  who 
dropped  out  about  the  beginning  of  Grow's 
time,  Clay,  Webster,  and  Calhoun,  marked 
him  first  of  all  as  a  formidable  fighter.  He 
nevertheless  displayed  the  most  chivalrous  im 
pulses  and  fine  feeling.  Calhoun,  one  of  his 
bitterest  foes,  had  seemed  to  enjoy  stirring 
Benton  to  passionate  outbursts  in  the  Senate. 
Yet  it  is  typical  of  the  old  Missourian,  broad- 
minded  and  kind  at  heart,  that  when  the  great 
slavery  leader  lay  dying  and  some  one  broached 
the  subject  of  his  relations  with  Benton,  the 
latter  threw  up  both  his  hands  in  remon 
strance,  saying,  "I  won't  touch  that  theme. 
John  C.  Calhoun  is  marked  for  death,  and  when 


NEW  RELATIONSHIPS  /       101 

Death  puts  his  hand  on  a  man,  I  take  mine 
off." 

Grow  testifies  that  he  never  saw  Benton 
idle  a  moment  in  all  the  association  which  fol 
lowed,  and  to  the  end  of  his  life  spoke  grate 
fully  and  admiringly  of  him.  Indeed,  he  quoted 
Benton  so  frequently  that  it  was  obvious  that 
the  influence  upon  him  of  the  older  man's 
liberal  and  broad  ideas  of  public  service,  at 
the  stage  of  his  life  when  he  was  malleable  and 
questing  for  determinant  standards,  was  ex 
tremely  powerful.  He  certainly  enjoyed  the 
first  few  years  of  his  life  in  Washington,  the 
period  when  Benton  was  there,  much  more 
than  the  later  ones. 

With  these  personal  relationships  began 
friendships  which  widened  to  a  large  circle. 
Grow  gained  quickly  in  general  esteem  because 
he  could  always  be  counted  upon,  even  to  the 
point  of  obstinacy.  He  was  of  homespun  sim 
plicity,  he  always  spoke  directly,  his  convic 
tions  were  well  known,  and  he  was  always 
dynamic.  He  learned  a  great  deal  from  his 
associates,  and  a  happy  self-directing  ability 
made  it  possible  for  him  to  see  quickly  what 
he  wanted  to  do  in  Congress  and  how  to  do  it. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   DOMAIN   AS   A   SOCIAL   QUESTION 

WHEN  the  curtain  rose  on  the  second  act  of 
the  Homestead  drama  at  the  beginning  of  the 
session  in  1853,  Grow  launched  his  own  meas 
ure  on  the  billows  of  congressional  opinion. 
To  have  a  stormy  passage  before  reaching  its 
port  of  final  destination  as  a  statute,  it  entered 
upon  its  devious  voyage  inauspiciously. 

The  situation  was  complex.  Two  meas 
ures  besides  Grow's  were  put  in:  the  first  by 
Cobb,  of  Alabama,  the  second  by  Dawson,  of 
Pennsylvania.  Cobb's  bill  significantly  marked 
the  period  of  Democratic  change.  The  issue 
has  been  adopted  by  both  parties.  The  Free- 
Soilers,  mainly  Northern  Democrats  and 
Whigs  metamorphosing  into  something  new, 
several  months  after  Grow  made  his  first  land 
speech  in  the  House  had  inserted  the  following 
plank  in  their  party  platform  and  featuredit: 
"  That  the  public  lands  belong  to  the  people  and 
should  not  be  sold  to  individuals  nor  granted 
to  corporations,  but  should  be  held  as  a  sacred 
trust  for  the  benefit  of  the  people  and  should 


THE   DOMAIN  103 

be  granted  in  limited  quantities  to  landless 
settlers."  The  Democracy  resisted  this  broad 
stand;  its  progressive  faction  left  it  to  Cobb, 
their  representative,  to  protect  the  South 's 
interest  in  the  commonage.  Only  a  smaller 
group  of  Southern  stand-patters  did  not  sus 
tain  him. 

Of  course  the  ultimate  question  before  Con 
gress  had  a  far  deeper  significance  than  the 
disposition  of  so  much  territory;  in  its  essence 
it  was  whether  the  ideal  of  liberty  on  which  we 
founded  the  nation  was  to  find  justification  in 
greater  industrial  freedom.  A  progressive  land 
policy  which  should  favor  the  agricultural 
laborer,  white  or  free  black,  and  give  stimulus 
to  the  greatest  of  our  industries  at  the  moment 
we  promoted  human  welfare,  would  open  the 
whole  domain.  Freehold  would  confer  the 
greatest  economic  advantages  upon  the  masses. 
The  Democracy,  afraid  of  loss  of  power,  could 
not  ignore  this  altogether  because  of  agitation 
and  unrest :  but  the  party  offered  compromises 
which  were  extremely  questionable. 

The  South,  not  having  the  same  angle  on 
freedom  as  the  North,  was  concerned  with 
the  immediate  issue;  whether,  if  the  domain 
were  to  be  disposed  of,  allotment  should  be 


104  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

based  on  sale  at  a  modified  purchase  price, 
preemption,  which  was  practically  leasehold, 
or,  if  nothing  less  than  freehold  would  do, 
what  portion  of  the  commonage  to  surrender. 
They  viewed  as  the  ultimate  question  whether 
lands  unsold  should  pass  into  state  control. 
Upon  our  decision  between  compromise  with 
the  old  or  adoption  of  a  new  policy  rested  the 
future  homogeneity  of  our  people. 

Cobb  was  an  exceedingly  earnest,  shrewd, 
and  tenacious  man,  brief  in  speech,  markedly 
practical,  and  an  excellent  leader.  He  had 
narrowly  missed  the  Speakership  the  previous 
Congress,  and  his  political  turns  were  those 
of  a  well-poised  weather-vane.  His  following 
was  organized  and  powerful,  while  his  skill 
in  manipulating  legislation  was  extraordinary 
because  he  had  qualifications  of  experience, 
parliamentary  knowledge,  and  daring  —  a 
triple  alliance  of  no  mean  value.  Naturally 
this  proposal  of  his  had  peculiar  importance. 
Curiously  possessed  of  what  might  be  termed 
a  double  personality  —  part  homestead  and 
part  anti-homestead  —  the  bill  provided  that 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  should  be  avail 
able  to  all  free  white  male  persons  aged 
twenty-one  in  that  limited  area  of  land  which 


THE   DOMAIN  105 

was  "open  to  private  entry";  but  the  rest  of 
the  domain  was  to  be  sold  at  graduated  and 
reduced  prices.  All  lands  which  had  been  in 
the  market  for  ten  years  or  over  should  be  sold 
to  "actual  settlers"  at  a  price  of  one  dollar  an 
acre;  those  fifteen  years  or  over,  at  seventy- 
five  cents;  twenty  years,  at  fifty  cents;  and 
thirty  years,  at  twelve  and  one  half  cents. 
This  modification  was  not  to  be  construed  to 
apply  to  reserved  areas  or  to  lands  granted 
to  railroads  or  for  internal  improvements. 

The  proposal  of  graduation  measures,  the 
South's  checkmate  to  the  small-farm  move 
ment,  was  mere  practical  expedient.  All  sale 
plans  had  failed  to  prevent  speculation.  It 
was  neither  good  business  principle  nor  was 
it  advantageous  public  policy  to  establish 
the  precedent,  as  all  these  bills  did,  that  the 
longer  common  land  remained  in  the  market 
the  cheaper  it  became.  Competent  proof  of 
settlement  could  not  be  exacted  when  the 
transaction  was  sale,  not  gift,  and  modi 
fied  prices  were  only  additional  inducements 
to  speculation.  Cobb's  so-called  homestead 
scheme  excluded  all  not  native-born  and  the 
reduced-price  sections  committed  the  nation 
to  continued  sale,  fundamental  objections.  It 


106  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

was  reported  favorably  from  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture,  and  Cobb  felt  that  he  had  his 
weapons  ready  for  an  anticipated  fight. 

Grow's  bill  and  that  proposed  by  Dawson 
went  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands. 
Dawson  was  its  chairman  and  managed  to 
get  prior  consideration  for  his  own  measure 
by  reporting  it  out  without  loss  of  a  day.  In 
comparison  to  Cobb's  bill  it  was  less  danger 
ous  to  the  country.  Limited  to  private  en 
try  land  also,  it  at  least  allowed  immigrants 
already  here  to  benefit.  It  was,  however,  an 
immature  bill,  so  loosely  worded  that  only  six 
weeks'  residence  on  the  land  at  stated  peri 
ods  was  required.  It  did  not  attempt  to  lay 
out  a  general  policy  for  the  whole  common 
age,  and  what  was  serious,  mineral  lands  were 
not  excluded  from  the  tracts  offered  for  set 
tlement.  Vast  tracts  must  have  been  opened 
to  the  capitalist  speculator  thereby. 

Grow's  was  the  only  measure  of  the  three 
essentially  broad:  it  was  the  Homestead  Act 
essentially  as  passed  eight  years  later.  No 
more  of  the  domain  was  to  be  sold.  It  out 
lined  as  its  primary  policy  that  all  land  not 
set  aside  for  special  purposes  was  to  be  opened 
to  entry  by  bona-fide  settlers  when  surveyed. 


THE   DOMAIN  107 

There  was  no  distinction  between  classes  or 
peoples.  All  heads  of  families  twenty -one 
years  old  were  eligible,  not  only  those  then  in 
the  country,  but  those  to  come,  provided  that 
upon  filing  they  declared  intention  of  citizen 
ship  and  received  naturalization  papers  before 
patent  was  issued.  Further  than  this,  Grow 
had  taken  particular  care  to  safeguard  filing, 
residence,  and  proof  so  that  continuous  occu 
pation  for  five  years  would  be  inescapable. 

This  worthy  measure,  modestly  brought  for 
ward,  unheralded,  waited  humbly  for  a  chance 
at  consideration.  Dawson  had  so  laid  the  lines 
that  the  Homestead,  like  a  leading  lady,  en 
tered  first  in  the  costume  he  wanted  her  to 
adopt.  Grow,  not  losing  sight  of  his  own  meas 
ure,  was  nevertheless  so  in  love  with  free  grants 
and  so  eager  to  secure  some  permanent  recog 
nition  of  federal  power  that  he  gave  Dawson's 
work  what  loyal  support  he  might.  He  be 
lieved  that  the  essential  now  was  to  get  the 
principle  on  the  statute  books,  and  that  before 
the  bill  was  passed  much  amendment  might 
be  possible.  Cobb  had  given  notice  of  his 
intention  to  submit  a  substitute.  Grow  did 
likewise. 

Conservative  Democrats,  looking  critically 


108  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

at  the  handiwork  of  the  North,  viciously  at 
tacked  Dawson's  proposition  because  of  its 
proletarian  color;  the  charge  of  "agrarianism" 
and  "leveling"  was  laid  at  his  door.  Early  in 
the  discussion  Grow  was  up  with  a  defense, 
pointing  out  that  our  whole  history  had  been 
that  of  a  distinctly  democratic  movement  to 
ward  equalization,  a  leveling  which  was  ad 
mirable.  Agreeing  with  Grow,  Dawson  called 
it  the  sort  of  agrarianism  which  levels  up,  not 
down,  the  kind  which  every  patriot  and  phi 
losopher  in  dreams  of  love  for  his  race  have 
longed  for  and  labored  to  see  established 
among  men.  He  added  that  the  gentlemen 
who  opposed  the  policy  reminded  him  of  those 
early  navigators  who  forever  hung  around  the 
coasts  of  the  Mediterranean  and  western 
Europe,  afraid  to  launch  forth  on  the  broad 
ocean  which  waited  to  bear  them  to  a  new 
world.  Of  course  the  proposition  was  not 
agrarian  in  the  old  offensive  sense  of  taking 
from  those  who  possess  for  those  who  do  not 
possess.  We  were  dealing  with  unoccupied 
lands  which  were  a  common  fund,  without 
intent  to  interfere  with  individual  property. 

The  atmosphere  of  the  Chamber  during  the 
House  debate  was  by  no  means  consistently 


THE   DOMAIN  109 

controversial.  Cobb,  Dawson,  and  Grow  were 
all  Democrats,  but  Cobb  led  the  faction  of 
greatest  solidarity.  Usually  he  worked  genially 
in  an  apparent  endeavor  to  better  Dawson's 
measure,  with  no  suggestion  of  ulterior  design. 
Dawson  was  watchful  and  objected  to  his 
amendments;  for  instance,  one  that  Cobb  sub 
mitted  which  would  change  the  beneficiaries  to 
any  man  or  widow,  free,  white,  and  twenty- 
one.  Dawson  protested  that  this  might  en 
danger  the  passage  of  the  bill  and  that  it  was 
bad  policy  so  to  enlarge  the  application  of  the 
measure. 

Cobb,  however,  in  a  mood  of  chivalric  jocu 
larity  and  sly  badinage,  insisted  that  he  had 
been  hoping  that  his  friend  Jones,  of  Tennessee, 
a  bachelor  (distinguished  as  the  "Cerberus  of 
the  Treasury"),  would  have  done  even  better 
than  he  did  by  bringing  forward  an  amend 
ment  proposing  to  extend  the  privileges  of  the 
bill  to  unmarried  females.  Jones  thereupon 
came  in  for  many  pleasantries  upon  his  lone 
state,  and  created  much  laughter  by  taking  up 
Cobb's  dare.  He  moved  to  change  the  phrase 
to  read,  "any  head  of  a  family  or  eighteen 
years  of  age."  This  passed. 

In  the  discussion  of  this  same  clause  the 


110  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

temper  of  the  House  changed  tempestuously 
when  Lawrence  M.  Keitt,  later  to  have  a  note 
worthy  encounter  with  Grow,  entered  the 
action.  Consistently,  the  first  occasion  of  his 
appearance  was  to  strike  the  color  note,  in 
regard  to  the  word  "citizen."  He  belligerently 
demanded  of  Dawson  whether  he  regarded  the 
free  black  in  any  State  a  citizen.  Dawson,  see 
ing  danger,  warded  off:  the  mere  mention  of 
"Uncle  Tom"  was  serious,  while  Uncle  Tom 
going  West  (unless  his  master  took  him)  was 
a  revolutionary  idea  to  uphold,  inviting  terri 
fying  disquisitions.  Yet  some  mischievous  soul 
temeritously  taunted  Keitt  and  his  sympathiz 
ers,  jocularly  submitting  that  any  individual 
should  be  eligible  to  a  homestead  who  "was 
more  than  half  white!" 

Straight  economic  reasons  replaced  the  sen 
timental  alleviation-of -poverty  plea  that  John 
son  had  urged  as  argument  for  this  policy. 
Grow  drew  this  distinction:  — 

I  do  not  understand  the  principles  of  this  bill  to 
be  based  on  almshouse  bounty  or  that  the  Govern 
ment  is  to  be  converted  into  a  bounty-dispensing 
machine  to  relieve  the  wants  and  distresses  of  the 
country.  I  understand  that  it  is  a  policy  which 
will  furnish  the  best  facilities  for  cultivating  the 
wilderness,  to  make  it  answer  the  happiness  and 
welfare  of  the  race.  ...  In  this  country  the  con- 


THE   DOMAIN  111 

trolling  interest  now  and  ever  must  be  agriculture. 
What  promotes  that  by  giving  permanency  and 
security  to  it  promotes  either  directly  or  indirectly 
every  other  industry.  ...  It  is  agriculture  which 
is  of  permanent  and  lasting  interest.  This  bill  is  to 
secure  settlement  by  ...  men  who  desire  to  cul 
tivate;  to  secure  it  [land]  to  them  free  from  the 
extortions  and  exactions  of  capital  of  the  country, 
which  has  been  permitted  to  take  from  their  hard- 
earned  savings  too  large  an  amount. 

This  attack  on  capital  roused  the  stand-pat 
wing  of  the  Democracy.  Millson,  the  spokes 
man,  gave  battle  at  once,  asserting  that  Grow 
seemed  to  be  enamored  of  the  homestead  in 
whatever  aspect  it  appeared.  He  tried  to 
make  out  that  the  bill  now  applied  only  to  the 
rich.  One  of  his  sallies  was  that  "Like  Sir  Hu- 
dibras,  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  can 

*"  Confute,  change  hands,  and  confute  again  .  .  .'" 

Grow  retorted  that  he  was  opposed  to  any 
restrictions  on  applicants  who  would  honestly 
occupy  the  land,  either  of  birth  or  of  property, 
and  returned  Millson's  fire  by  accusing  him  of 
objecting  to  the  homestead  because  the  meas 
ure  would  draw  off  population  from  the  old 
States  and  so  change  representation.  Grow 
believed  that  the  law  ought  to  benefit  and 
would  benefit  chiefly  the  poorer  people. 


112  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

The  constitutionalists  (Millson's  stamp)  be 
came  increasingly  scornful.  They  said  that 
the  new  States  favored  the  bill  because  they 
preferred  that  the  National  Government  should 
bear  the  cost  of  surveys  and  management. 
It  was  no  use  talking  of  the  obvious  uncon 
stitutionally  because,  they  intimated,  the 
Chairman  would  manage  to  gag  them  some 
way.  They  took  out  their  spleen  in  offering 
amendments  to  add  a  low  price  to  the  lands 
"  to  bring  the  bill  within  gunshot  of  the  Con 
stitution."  They  heaped  ridicule  upon  it  by 
moving  to  add  to  the  section  which  specified 
"free  of  cost,"  that  those  making  entries  be 
provided  with  "one  rifle-gun  each,"  or  that 
they  be  "furnished  with  one  copy  of  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States."  These  motions 
being  rejected  as  not  germane,  it  was  suggested 
that  the  title  of  the  bill  should  read,  "Land  for 
those  who  have  plenty  of  land  already,  a  farm 
for  him  who  has  a  dozen  farms  now,  a  home  for 
him  who  has  no  home."  It  was  charged  that 
homesteads  were  a  bribe  to  the  lazzaroni  of 
Europe  to  come  here.  "Buncombe"  was  the 
most  popular  term  of  abuse. 

Dawson,  defending  the  measure,  quoted  that 
champion  of  Southern  rights  and  strict  consti- 


THE  DOMAIN  113 

tutionalist,  Calhoun,  who  had  advocated  the 
policy  and  power  of  the  Federal  Government 
to  grant  alternate  sections  to  railroads,  but 
Dawson  was  so  partisan  that  he  fell  into  an 
error  against  which  Grow's  good  sense  luckily 
always  protected  him:  he  spoiled  his  effect  by 
vaunting  the  superiority  of  Northern  energy 
and  initiative. 

Cobb's  temper  apparently  sharpened  under 
this  sort  of  thing,  and  he  made  a  pointed  and 
just  attack  on  the  inclusion  of  mineral  lands 
in  the  area  to  be  disposed  of.  Dawson,  wary  of 
Cobb  and  his  purposes,  was  unwilling  to  yield 
a  hair's  breadth,  but  still  found  himself  at  a 
loss  to  defend  the  provision.  Cobb  thereupon 
served  warning  that  if  the  proposal  was  not 
largely  amended,  he  would  press  as  a  substi 
tute  his  own  bill,  already  printed. 

Dawson  naturally  wanted  to  avert  the  pro 
posed  substitution.  He  was  quite  amiable 
when  Cobb  offered  another  amendment,  to 
the  effect  that  the  bill  should  apply  to  persons 
who  did  not  own  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
-that  any  person  might  enter  a  quantity 
which  would  bring  the  amount  in  their  pos 
session  up  to  a  quarter-section. 

All  the  signs  were  such  as  to  cause  Grow  to 


114  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

become  decidedly  uneasy.  He  knew  that  the 
threat  of  the  South's  checkmate  was  not  idle. 
Amending  and  mauling  grew  determined  and 
ominous.  In  the  hope  that  a  stronger  bill 
might  procure  more  votes,  Grow  tried  to  call 
up  his  own  substitute.  The  Cobb  amendment 
had  precedence. 

Cobb  did  not  want  to  see  Grow's  broader 
measure  have  a  real  chance.  He  evidently  con 
sidered  well  and  laid  his  lines.  He  let  his  own 
measure  come  up,  but  then  he  declared  him 
self.  He  preferred  the  Dawson  homestead 
measure  as  it  stood  to  his  own,  despite  the 
clause  which  permitted  immigrants  already  in 
the  country  to  benefit  because,  he  said,  it  pro 
vided  for  females  and  all  persons  having  less 
than  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres.  Since  Cobb 
did  not  urge  his  substitute,  it  was  not  accepted. 

This  left  the  path  apparently  clear  for  Grow, 
who  offered  his  bill,  with  no  intent  to  embar 
rass  Dawson  or  to  retard  progress  on  the  first 
measure,  but  because  it  contained  practically 
every  pertinent  change  proposed.  He  pointed 
out  that  it  provided  safeguards  against  fraud, 
stipulated  continuous  occupation,  prohibited 
alienation  of  the  tract  after  title  was  perfected, 
guaranteed  the  inheritance  by  children  in  case 


THE  DOMAIN  115 

of  death  of  parents,  but  most  important  of  all, 
that  it  was  the  only  proposition  to  reserve  all 
the  rest  of  the  domain  to  settlers.  These  differ 
ences  were  exactly  those  between  an  honest 
and  comprehensive  and  a  doubtful  and  limited 
measure  still  embodying  a  desirable  principle. 

Cobb  bent  himself  to  defeat  Grow,  and 
managed  it.  This  settled  Grow's  chances  for 
the  time,  since  he  could  not  again  propose  the 
same  substitute,  but  he  worked  harder  than 
ever  in  an  attempt  to  graft  his  provisions  on 
the  Dawson  bill  in  the  little  time  remaining, 
with  indifferent  success.  Keitt  at  this  point 
tried  to  strike  out  the  enacting  clause;  that 
failing,  he  moved  to  strike  out  the  first  section. 
Cobb  did  not  support  him,  but  Grow  was  not 
clear  why;  and  although  the  measure  was  not 
what  he  wished  it  to  be,  he  was  genuinely  glad 
and  relieved  to  see  it  pass  the  House  very 
soon,  in  March.  His  hopes  were  high  of  seeing 
it  driven  through  the  Senate. 

Grow  was  elated  because  he  thought  of  the 
act  as  a  precedent  from  which  to  work  out  the 
best  social  purpose  of  the  time.  A  new  and  sig 
nificant  human  theory  had  hung  in  the  bal 
ance  between  those  who  had  desired  to  see  our 
land  system  shaped  upon  some  established 


116  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

property  plan  redolent  of  European  landlord 
ism  and  those  who  had  a  determination  that 
we  should  carve  it  out  on  new  lines,  bravely, 
to  make  possible  some  fundamentally  demo 
cratic  division  between  individuals. 

Duganne,  the  poet,  had  sung  the  progressive 
social  purpose:  — 

"  A  billion  of  acres  of  unsold  lands 
Are  lying  in  grievous  dearth, 
And  millions  of  men  in  the  image  of  God 
Are  starving  all  over  the  earth. 
Oh,  tell  me,  ye  sons  of  America 
How  much  men's  lives  are  worth  ? 

"  Those  millions  of  acres  belong  to  man ! 
And  his  claim  is  —  that  he  needs ! 
And  his  title  is  signed  by  the  hand  of  God  — 
Our  God,  who  the  raven  feeds. 
And  the  starving  soul  of  each  famished  man 
At  the  throne  of  justice  pleads! 

"  Ye  may  not  heed  it,  ye  haughty  men, 
Whose  hearts  as  rocks  are  cold; 
But  the  time  will  come  when  the  fiat  of  God 
In  thunder  shall  be  told. 
For  the  voice  of  the  great  'I  am*  hath  said 
That  'The  lands  shall  not  be  sold!" 

But  Grow's  elation  was  premature.  The 
fight  was  not  yet  done  in  the  House.  Cobb  was 
waiting  to  make  good  his  warning  that  he 
would  amend  the  bill,  and  he  did  it  in  a  man- 


THE  DOMAIN  117 

ner  to  make  it  a  veritable  coup.  He  secured  a 
ruling  from  the  Speaker  that  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  a  Homestead  Act  had  been  passed, 
his  proposal  was  still  pending.  The  Home 
stead  Bill,  under  the  rule  prevailing,  was  open 
to  amendment,  although  by  agreement  debate 
on  the  subject  was  closed  beyond  five-minute 
speeches.  In  a  word,  there  was  neither  a 
chance  to  debate  on  the  construction  of  the 
measure  nor  to  defer  action.  Cobb  had  had 
time  to  align  in  favor  of  his  own  proposal  a 
number  of  Representatives  who  had  voted  for 
the  Homestead  Bill.  He  occupied  a  command 
ing  position. 

Cobb  immediately  moved  that  the  home 
stead  provisions  be  stricken  out  and  the  gradu 
ation  clauses  alone  of  his  substitute  stand  as 
the  main  measure.  On  his  part  this  was  arrant 
desertion,  in  toto,  of  the  original  idea.  Whether 
from  private  conviction  or  for  political  rea 
sons,  he  was  suddenly  only  willing  that  the 
country  should  be  committed  to  modified 
prices,  not  donation.  He  lived  up  to  what  the 
South  had  looked  to  him  to  do. 

Grow  and  the  other  friends  of  the  homestead 
were  in  a  maddening  predicament.  The  parlia 
mentary  situation  was  far  worse  than  at  the 


118  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

previous  session  when  Johnson  had  to  defeat 
Brown's  maneuvers.  All  that  Dawson  and 
Grow  could  hurriedly  do  was  to  scout  for  votes. 
Seeing  more  clearly  than  ever  that  it  was 
supremely  necessary  to  our  national  welfare 
that  recognition  of  federal  rights  be  gained  to 
undertake  any  essential  system  of  internal 
improvements,  Grow  was  thoroughly  exas 
perated.  The  reason  that  Unionists,  just  when 
they  had  had  another  smell  of  victory,  were 
facing  frustration  of  their  work  was  of  course 
that  it  involved  old  questions  of  States'  rights 
and  new  questions  of  human  rights.  The 
Union  depended  upon  the  adoption  of  some 
policy  so  big  and  generous  that  there  could 
be  no  question  of  federal  authority.  Thus  the 
Union  would  go  forward  to  her  best  fulfillment 
—  but  perhaps  not  yet ! 

Deeply  afraid,  Grow  moved  an  amendment 
to  Cobb's  bill  that  no  lands  hereafter  surveyed 
should  be  exposed  to  sale,  hoping  so  to  limit 
the  operation  of  the  Graduation  Act  that  it 
would  do  the  least  possible  harm.  Forecast  of 
disaster,  this  amendment  failed.  Although  the 
homesteaders  defeated  an  amendment  to  cede 
all  the  lands  back  to  the  States,  dissent  reigned 
concerning  the  main  proposal.  The  Home- 


THE   DOMAIN  119 

stead  Act  was  stricken  out;  Cobb's  graduation 
measures  were  left  as  the  operative  part.  Grow 
had  his  first  bitter  legislative  disappointment. 
He  had  fought  sturdily  to  be  rewarded  only 
by  defeat.  Robbed  of  its  short-lived  triumph, 
giving  Grow  and  his  associates  a  serious  set 
back,  the  homestead  proposition  was  placed 
in  another  of  those  dramatic  situations  which 
attended  its  whole  career.  The  first  true 
Homestead  Bill  had  gone  to  the  Senate;  but 
what  would  be  the  effect  upon  it  now  that  this 
other,  masquerading  under  the  same  name, 
had  received  support  at  its  expense  in  the 
House? 


CHAPTER  VH 

THE   SENATE   TAKES  A   STAND 

THE  scene  shifted  to  the  Senate.  There  was 
still  hope  that  the  upper  House  might  favor 
the  simple  homestead  idea.  The  House  bill, 
without  Cobb's  amendment,  was  reported  back 
from  the  Committee  of  Public  Lands  in  Feb 
ruary  but  slightly  changed.  Spectacular,  acri 
monious  debate  signaled  a  new  defiance  which 
indicated  the  lines  the  sustained  fight  was  to 
follow.  From  this  time  on  the  history  of  the 
bill  is  intricate.  Shuttled  back  and  forth  from 
House  to  Senate,  from  committee  to  commit 
tee,  it  was  a  plaything  of  rules  and  altogether 
a  most  interesting  figure. 

Early  in  the  day  Cass  sounded  a  clear  note 
in  his  strong  declaration  favorable  to  the 
proposition.  In  his  opinion  it  was  "the  great 
measure  of  the  session  .  .  .  provision  for  the 
settlement  of  a  world";  and  he  asserted  that 
we  might  now,  in  tribute  to  the  value  of  free 
institutions,  perform  a  new  and  noble  function 
in  the  operations  of  government  through  the 
power  of  distribution,  granting  to  each  a  part 


THE   SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND  121 

of  what  belongs  to  all.  "I  can  conceive  of 
nothing  in  the  progress  of  human  society," 
he  averred,  "better  calculated  to  add  to  the 
strength,  the  resources,  and  the  moral  power 
of  the  country  than  this  plan  of  justice  and 
equity." 

Chase  also  ardently  acclaimed  the  public 
lands  as  "the  estate  of  the  people."  He  main 
tained  that  they  individually  were  its  proper 
beneficiaries.  The  homestead  plank  which  had 
appeared  in  the  Democratic  platform  in  1848 
was  his  work,  and  he  consistently  adhered  to  it. 
Also,  he  ably  stated  his  view,  when  section  six 
was  under  discussion,  that  there  was  no  prin 
ciple  in  discriminating  between  Americans  and 
incoming  foreigners  who  would  naturalize. 
This  part  of  the  bill  read:  — 

And  be  it  further  enacted  that  any  individual 
now  a  resident  of  any  one  of  the  States  or  Terri 
tories  and  not  a  resident  of  the  United  States,  but 
at  the  time  of  making  such  declaration  of  inten 
tion  as  required  by  the  naturalization  laws  of  the 
United  States,  and  who  shall  become  a  citizen  of 
the  same  before  the  issuance  of  the  patent  as  made 
and  provided  for  by  this  act,  shall  be  placed  upon 
an  equal  footing  with  the  native-born  citizen  of  the 
United  States. 

Controversies  raged  over  this  section.    Al- 


GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

though  many  of  the  best  men  of  the  Senate 
were  for  the  immediate  definition  of  a  land 
policy  which  should  bring  about  settlement,  it 
immediately  became  clear  that  the  Southern 
members  and  the  pro-slavery  Democrats  of 
the  North  had  formed  a  powerful  combination 
unalterably  opposed  to  a  straight  grant  with 
out  price  or  to  any  plan  wherefrom  foreign- 
born  people  might  benefit.  The  senatorial 
sponsor  for  the  measure  at  this  time,  Dodge, 
defended  the  policy  with  regard  to  aliens.  It 
was  already  established,  since  the  preemption 
laws  already  permitted  any  foreigner  fresh 
from  Europe  to  make  entry.  He  complained 
that  the  bill  was  misunderstood  and  abused, 
and  that  all  sorts  of  "raw-head  and  bloody- 
bones  arguments"  were  being  raised  about  it. 
Thereupon  came  an  attack  typical  of  com 
bative  factional  feeling  within  the  party.  A 
Senator  from  Alabama,  Clay,  accused  Dodge, 
whose  career  was  fathered  by  the  Democracy, 
of  being  unfilial  to  his  political  faith.  "  It  ap 
pears  to  me  that,  repudiating  the  Scriptural 
injunction,  'Hear  the  instruction  of  thy 
father,'  he  is  a  perfect  illustration  of  the  self- 
sufficiency  and  impiety  of  progressive  young 
America,  kicking  off  swaddling  clothes,  'Dodg- 


THE   SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND  123 

ing  Daddy,'  and  going  it  on  his  own  hook." 
He  declared  that  the  bill  was  an  infraction  of 
the  rights  and  would  degrade  the  dignity  of 
the  land  States,  work  serious  harm  upon  land 
holders,  and  inflict  serious  injustice  by  divid 
ing  the  common  treasure.  "Wrongs  so  serious 
and  iniquitous  could  hardly  be  endured  by 
stoic  or  by  saint!"  he  cried  passionately,  and 
asserted  that  if  the  proposal  passed,  its  effect 
would  be  something  he  had  never  expected 
to  see,  a  Know-Nothing  or  Native-American 
Party  in  the  South. 

The  Know-Nothings,  just  coming  to  power 
ful  organization,  were  of  course  entirely  in 
sympathy  with  the  South  in  opposition  to  the 
measure.  National  character  was  in  the  mak 
ing,  and  the  pressure  of  alien  ideals  was  acting, 
in  general,  counter  to  certain  influences  of  the 
old  colonial  stock.  The  effort  to  found  a  na 
tional  party  to  resist  racial  and  political  pre 
dominance  of  the  newcomers  received  merited 
ridicule  from  the  homesteaders. 

Seward  took  occasion,  because  the  Home 
stead  Bill  was  being  fought,  not  on  principles 
of  political  economy,  but  on  blind  prejudice, 
to  read  the  creed  of  the  exclusionists  printed 
by  a  Massachusetts  journal.  In  its  sixteen 


124  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

articles  there  were  just  a  half-dozen  founded 
on  sound  American  principles.  The  rest  of  it 
was  an  intensely  bigoted,  anti-Romanist,  anti- 
alien  declaration.  Although  Seward  had  not 
named  the  strange  secret  organization  so  mys 
teriously  pervasive  at  the  North,  a  Southern 
Senator,  Dixon,  of  Kentucky,  —  he  who  was 
later  instrumental  in  precipitating  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  —  demanded  in 
cautiously  if  Seward  meant  to  say  that  these 
were  the  principles  of  the  Know-No  things." 

Seward  retorted,  "I  know  nothing  of  the 
Know-Nothings ! " 

"If  the  Senator  knows  nothing  of  the  Know- 
Nothings,"  contended  Dixon  facetiously,  "it 
seems  to  me  very  strange  that  he  should  here 
pretend  to  state  what  the  principles  of  the 
Know-Nothings  are.  I  should  like  him  to  ex 
plain,  if  he  knows  nothing  of  the  Know-Noth 
ings  or  their  principles,  how  he  reads  here 
the  principles  of  the  Know-Nothings?" 

The  Senate,  in  high  glee  at  this  exploitation 
of  the  foibles  of  its  secret  fraternity,  redoubled 
its  merriment  when  Seward,  in  full  enjoyment 
of  the  opportunity  for  badinage,  replied,  "If 
my  excellent  friend  had  paid  close  attention 
to  what  I  said  he  would  have  learned  that  I 


THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND    125 

said  nothing  of  the  Know-Nothings.  My  rea 
son  is  that  I  always  say  nothing  of  that  of 
which  I  know  nothing!  Again,  the  Honora 
ble  Senator  will  excuse  me  from  answering 
his  question  because  it  is  my  purpose  to  say 
nothing  of  the  Know-Nothings,  because  of  the 
Know-Nothings,  as  I  have  already  stated,  I 
know  nothing  at  all!" 

Making  his  effect,  Seward  continued  seri 
ously  that  it  was  sufficient  for  him  to  say  that 
everything  is  un-American  which  makes  a  dis 
tinction  of  whatever  kind  in  this  country  be 
tween  the  native-born  citizen  and  him  who 
renounces  his  allegiance  to  a  foreign  land  and 
swears  fealty  to  us.  He  pleaded  for  the  neces 
sity  of  foreign  labor  to  satisfy  our  great  na 
tional  wants  in  industry,  commerce,  and  agri 
culture  alike.  He  pointed  out  the  diminution 
of  the  cost  of  labor  due  to  the  influx  of  for 
eigners  and  declared  that  their  exclusion  from 
homestead  benefits  would  act  injuriously;  that 
farm  labor  would  be  high,  that  we  should  be 
interfering  arbitrarily  with  the  laws  of  supply 
and  demand,  and  that  the  population  of  the 
States  would  be  prevented. 

When  it  was  not  the  immigrant,  it  was  the 
negro  who  was  perpetually  in  the  woodpile. 


126  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

However  much  Mr.  Grow  and  his  senatorial 
friends  wished  to  avoid  it,  the  sixth  section 
was  bound,  with  the  South  in  this  temper, 
repeatedly  to  be  made  the  excuse  for  connec 
tion  between  the  slavery  agitation  and  the 
homestead  policy.  Like  Keitt  in  the  House,  one 
Southern  Senator  felt  serious  alarm  because 
the  words  "individual,"  "person,"  "head  of  a 
family,"  or  "citizen"  did  not  specify  color  or 
citizenship,  and  therefore  might  include  ne 
groes;  he  advocated  in  the  course  of  rabid 
debate  that  the  sixth  section  be  struck  out 
altogether. 

Chase,  faithful  suitor  for  a  free  folk-land, 
showed  that  even  under  the  laws  of  some  of 
the  Southern  States  —  for  instance,  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina  —  there  was  no  objection 
to  a  negro  holding  land;  that  there  were  negro 
property  owners  in  those  States.  Southern 
Senators  retorted  that  Pennsylvania  courts 
had  at  this  time  declared  that  the  negro  was 
not  a  citizen,  and  suggested  that  the  Senate 
thereupon  as  a  body  settle  the  status  of  the 
negro  —  meaning,  of  course,  that  he  should  be 
declared  not  eligible  to  citizenship. 

It  was  obvious  that  the  South  was  sparring 
for  time  while  deciding  on  some  definite  plan. 


THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND    127 

Much  that  was  extraneous  but  extremely 
flavorful  occurred  in  debate.  For  instance, 
a  Kentuckian  thus  caricatured  Senators  with 
presidential  ambitions  (such  as  Cass  and 
Seward)  who  were  in  favor  of  the  bill:  "The 
presidential  aspirant  starts  out  a-demagoguing, 
and  although  his  father  might  be  Irish  while 
his  mother  was  Dutch,  drawing  himself  up  in 
true  American  style,  he  then,  of  course,  offers 
all  the  land  to  men  promiscuously,  just  as  the 
Wicked  One  of  old  offered  to  our  Saviour  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world  if  he  would  fall  down 
and  worship  him,  when  the  old  scoundrel  had 
not  an  inch  of  terra  firma  in  all  creation  to  put 
his  foot  upon!" 

Exampling  upon  such  ridicule,  other  Demo 
cratic  members  offered  numerous  and  sundry 
reactionary  amendments,  including  one  which 
provided  that  any  mechanic  unable  to  comply 
with  the  provisions  of  the  act  was  to  receive 
one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  in  cash  from  the 
Treasury;  the  preemption  substitute  proposed 
by  Brown  in  1852  was  again  introduced;  they 
wrangled  over  the  age  of  applicants;  indulged 
in  asseverations  that  public  lands  should  all 
be  reserved  for  military  bounties;  attacks 
on  the  wording  of  the  bill  were  frequent  — 


128  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

nothing  likely  to  harass  its  friends  was  too  small 
to  delay  action.  The  Pacific  Railroad  Bill  was 
fought  against  it. 

Reviewing  some  of  the  objections,  one  of  its 
few  Southern  defenders  summed  up  with  con 
siderable  feeling:  "Never  since  I  have  occupied 
a  seat  on  this  floor  have  I  seen  a  measure  so 
assailed  as  this  has  been.  They  have  fought 
this  bill  as  Christian  and  Infidel  fought  in  the 
days  of  the  Crusaders.  They  have  gone  into 
the  most  ultra-guerrilla  warfare  I  have  ever 
witnessed  in  civilized  society.  Have  they 
attacked  the  principles  of  the  bill?  I  think  not. 
They  urge  objections!"  It  might  have  been 
Greeley  complaining  again. 

The  tournament  of  opinion  at  lance  grew 
hotter.  Wade,  Seward,  Dodge,  and  Chase, 
were  the  homestead's  most  strenuous  knights. 
Splendid  forensic  fireworks  were  displayed  on 
all  sides.  Feeling  waxed  so  high  that  personali 
ties  marked  the  last  weeks  of  the  session.  An 
unprogressive  Democrat  named  Clayton,  who 
had  been  waspishly  persistent  in  his  attempts 
to  annoy  homesteaders,  and  who  obviously 
was  bent  on  making  political  capital  out  of 
anti-alien  agitation,  changed  his  jousting 
weapon  from  the  knightly  lance  of  opinion  and 


THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND -129 

set  upon  the  ardent  group  of  supporters  of  the 
bill  with  verbal  sandbags.  He  attacked  Wade 
principally,  and  provoked  him  to  answers 
heated  and  none  too  wise,  resulting  finally  in 
Wade  flatly  giving  him  the  lie.  Seward  to  the 
rescue !  He  interposed  with  flashing  argument, 
took  the  brunt  of  the  onslaught,  and  came  out 
of  the  recurrent  wordy  skirmishes  with  flying 
colors. 

By  this  time  it  became  clear  that  behind  the 
scenes  all  was  in  readiness  for  coherent  counter 
action  by  the  Democrats.  Some  sort  of  alter 
native  would  be  adopted.  It  was  Robert  W. 
Johnson,  whom  we  saw  in  the  previous  ses 
sion  favoring  the  homestead,  who  acted  now 
as  spokesman  for  the  entrenched,  stand-pat 
Democracy.  His  dictum  was  in  the  nature  of 
a  climacteric  stroke.  The  bill,  he  now  opined, 
was  "so  strongly  tinctured  with  abolitionism 
that  no  Southerner  could  vote  for  it." 

The  dubious  uneasily  shifted  their  position. 
Counting  noses,  the  homesteaders  found  them 
selves  sure  to  be  outvoted.  Therefore  they 
had  patiently  to  endure  while  various  compro 
mises  were  discussed:  a  nominal  price,  or  a 
simple  modification  on  a  graduated  scale.  But 
the  forces  of  power  were  plainly  behind  a 


130  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

pernicious  substitute  offered  by  Hunter,  of 
Virginia,  which  proposed  to  connect  a  sys 
tem  of  graduation  similar  to  Cobb's  (only  appli 
cable  to  private  entry  areas)  with  a  permanent 
system  of  preemption  comprehensive  of  the 
whole  domain.  It  contained  dangerous  States' 
rights  doctrine.  Power  was  conferred  upon  the 
States  themselves  to  preempt  land,  which  they 
might  then  offer  to  "settlers"  at  a  higher  price 
if  they  chose.  Excess  above  sales  was  to  vest 
in  them,  and  the  Federal  Government  would 
be  denuded  gradually  of  all  the  commons. 

The  opposition  was  crippled;  the  coalition 
of  Southern  and  Northern  Democrats  was 
sufficient  to  put  the  bill  through.  It  passed 
and  was  sent  to  the  House  for  consideration, 
while  the  advocates  of  the  homestead  raged. 
They  preferred  Cobb's  act  to  this,  and  that 
had  meanwhile  come  up  from  the  House;  but 
even  if  that  were  passed,  it  was  evident  that 
full  recognition  of  the  principles  and  liberties 
in  which  they  believed  would  probably  be 
denied  them. 

In  August  the  Senate  was  again  debating 
land  policy,  and  Chase  and  other  homestead 
ers  threw  themselves  into  the  fight  in  a  gritty 
effort  to  change  the  tenor  of  Cobb's  bill.  Chase 


THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND   131 

proposed  the  straight  Homestead  Bill  as  an 
amendment-substitute.  This  move  caused  as 
tonishing  controversy  which  emphasized  the 
wide  differences  of  procedure  between  the  two 
Houses  of  Congress.  The  presiding  officer 
declared  that  putting  one  bill  as  amendment 
to  another  was  contrary  to  parliamentary 
law!  He  would  not  allow  it  to  be  done. 

Seward  and  Chase  both  debated  the  point 
bitterly.  The  Senate  at  that  very  session  had 
decided  this  issue  otherwise!  In  vain  they 
argued.  That  it  had  been  entirely  legitimate 
to  substitute  one  bill  for  another  in  the  House, 
as  had  actually  been  done  with  the  very 
measure  under  consideration,  had  no  weight 
with  the  Chair.  That  it  was  the  restoration  of 
the  original  bill  of  course  had  no  bearing!  He 
stubbornly  held  his  ground,  Southern  Demo 
crats  applauding.  Chase  made  an  appeal  from 
the  decision  of  the  Chair:  it  failed.  The  Cobb 
Bill  passed,  becoming  a  law. 

Two  rivals  had  displaced  the  original  Home 
stead  Act.  One  now  already  occupied  an  as 
sured  position  as  a  statute.  But  the  other  was 
on  the  table  of  the  House  awaiting  action. 
This  other  consisted  of  the  enacting  clause 
of  the  original  homestead  measure,  its  body, 


132  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

however,  barbarously  superseded  by  a  rival  of 
worse  character  even  than  the  Cobb  Bill  —  a 
body  which  threatened  not  only  to  usurp  the 
homestead's  immediate  functions  in  "private 
entry"  lands,  but  to  block  its  way  for  good  by 
involving  the  nation  with  a  plan  of  state  con 
trol  of  all  territory. 

This  aim  was  not  to  be  achieved  with  ease, 
however.  Homesteaders  in  the  House  rallied. 
When  the  Hunter  substitute  was  pushed  for 
ward,  the  indomitably  hopeful  group,  having 
seen  the  trick  twice  turned  against  them,  now 
made  a  concerted  attempt  to  kill  the  Hunter 
provisions  by  moving  the  original  Homestead 
Bill  as  a  superseding  amendment  —  in  other 
words,  restore  the  bill  to  its  original  shape  by 
the  same  method  Cobb  had  successfully  used. 
Cobb,  guardian  of  all  such  measures,  and  pos 
sibly  not  himself  in  favor  of  the  Hunter  plan, 
defeated  three  distinct  attempts  to  reinstate 
the  Homestead  Bill,  but  protected  his  own 
measure  by  not  permitting  action  on  the 
Hunter  substitute,  and  adjournment  settled 
the  matter. 

In  the  subsequent  session  this  bill  was  not 
pushed.  When  the  Graduation  Act  was  to  be 
slightly  amended  in  1855,  again  the  home- 


THE  SENATE  TAKES  A  STAND   133 

steaders  made  a  determined  effort  to  tack  their 
bill  to  Cobb's  measure  and  reverse  its  effect. 
Although  he  had  calmly  displaced  the  Home 
stead  Bill  in  this  manner,  Cobb  protested 
forcibly  at  the  persistent  attempt  to  turn  ta 
bles,  and  defeated  it.  By  no  means  all  the 
homestead  men  in  the  House  felt  that  it  was 
wise  further  to  jeopardize  its  chances,  and  the 
Graduation  Act,  only  slightly  changed,  was 
signed  in  March. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  REPEAL  OF  THE  MISSOURI  COMPROMISE 

BEFORE  the  homestead  measure  had  been 
finally  dealt  with  that  other  great  battle,  sub 
plot  of  our  drama,  was  begun,  the  smoke  and 
thunder  of  which  obscured  so  many  other  sig 
nificant  events  of  the  day.  The  proposal  to 
repeal  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  not  ex 
pected.  The  subject  sprang  up  like  a  confla 
gration  which,  smouldering  under  control,  sud 
denly  gains  headway  and  will  not  be  stopped. 
It  was  all  the  more  startling  because  Pierce, 
beginning  his  administration,  had  called  at 
tention  to  the  prevailing  tranquillity.  Grow, 
playing  a  modest  part  which  in  several  years 
was  to  develop  generously,  was  suddenly 
brought  to  a  new  sense  of  the  epoch  in  which 
he  lived. 

The  Missouri  Compromise  of  1820  distinctly 
gave  the  right  to  keep  the  slave  system  out  of 
the  territorial  dominion.  Yet  the  South  was 
restive  under  its  agreement.  Woodrow  Wilson 
effectively  phrases  it :  — 

Slavery  within  the  States  stood  sufficiently  pro- 


THE   COMPROMISE  REPEALED     135 

tected  by  every  solemn  sanction  that  the  Consti 
tution  could  afford.  No  man  could  touch  it  there, 
think,  hope,  or  purpose  what  he  might.  But  where 
new  States  were  to  be  made  it  was  not  so.  There 
at  every  step  choice  must  be  made;  slavery  or  no 
slavery?  —  a  new  choice  for  every  State;  a  fresh 
act  of  organization  to  go  with  every  fresh  act  of 
organization.  Had  there  been  no  Territories  there 
could  have  been  no  slavery  question  except  by 
revolution  and  contempt  of  fundamental  law.  But 
with  a  continent  to  be  peopled,  the  choice  thrust 
itself  insistently  forward  at  every  step  and  on  every 
hand.  This  was  the  slavery  question.  "  Not  what 
should  be  done  to  reverse  the  past,  but  what 
should  be  done  to  redeem  the  future."  We  must 
not  mistake  the  programme  of  the  anti-slavery 
society  for  the  platform  of  the  Republican  Party, 
or  forget  that  the  very  war  itself  was  begun  ere  any 
purpose  of  abolition  took  shape  amongst  those 
who  were  statesmen  in  authority.  It  was  a  ques 
tion,  not  of  freeing  men,  but  of  preserving  a  free 
soil. 

Most  of  the  time  from  1789  down  to  1854 
in  the  House  the  anti-expansionists  could,  by 
certain  combinations,  control  all  efforts  to 
extend  the  slave  system  to  the  free  States  and 
Territories,  but  it  was  different  in  the  Senate, 
which  was  constantly  opposing  the  admission 
of  free  States  without  the  admission  of  an 
equal  number  of  slave  States.  This  gradu 
ally  developed  on  the  part  of  the  South  the 


136  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

position  that  slavery  was  essentially  righteous, 
and  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  restrict  it  in 
the  Territories,  which  in  turn  resulted  ulti 
mately  in  the  Nebraska  Bill  in  which  Douglas 
laid  the  mine  which  was  to  explode  in  frat 
ricidal  war. 

Repeated  attempts  had  been  made  to  se 
cure  a  territorial  government  for  Kansas,  but 
Southern  votes  persistently  negatived  this 
proposal,  ostensibly  on  the  ground  that  the 
Territory  could  not  be  opened  to  settlement 
without  interference  with  Indian  reservations 
secured  by  "definite  and  solemn  treaties." 
A  bill  to  organize  a  territorial  government  for 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  introduced  by  Willard 
P.  Hall,  of  Missouri,  had  passed  the  House 
in  the  Thirty-second  Congress.  It  practically 
covered  all  the  Platte  country.  Kansas  was  to 
include  those  regions  in  the  latitude  of  Mis 
souri  and  west  of  that  State  and  Nebraska  was 
to  have  the  remainder.  In  order  to  carry  into 
effect  the  principles  of  the  Compromise  meas 
ures  of  1850,  the  act  provided  that  the  ques 
tion  of  slavery  should  be  left  to  the  people. 
The  questions  as  to  title  to  slaves  were  to  be 
left  to  the  local  courts  with  the  right  of  appeal, 
and  the  fugitive  slave  laws  were  to  be  opera- 


THE  COMPROMISE   REPEALED  137 

live.  Nothing  was  said  in  the  bill  about  the 
Missouri  Compromise. 

During  the  last  hours  of  the  session  the  bill 
was  taken  up  in  the  Senate  and  talked  to 
death  by  its  opponents,  notwithstanding  the 
apparently  earnest  efforts  of  Senator  Douglas 
to  secure  its  passage.  During  the  discussion 
many  Democrats  felt  convinced  that  Senator 
Atchison,  of  Missouri,  was  right  when  he  said: 
"It  is  evident  that  the  Missouri  Compromise 
cannot  be  repealed.  So  far  as  that  question  is 
concerned,  we  might  as  well  agree  to  the  ad 
mission  of  this  Territory  now  as  next  year  or 
five  or  ten  years  hence." 

Of  the  surprising  subsequent  events,  Grow 
chanced  to  be  in  a  position  to  have  special 
direct  information. 

Senator  Dodge,  of  Wisconsin,  in  the  next 
session,  1853-54,  introduced  an  "organization 
measure  for  Nebraska  in  the  same  form  as  the 
one  which  had  previously  passed  the  House, 
and  it  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Territories  of  which  Douglas  was  chairman. 
A  substitute  emerged  and  Douglas's  report 
contained  this  reference  to  the  Missouri  Com 
promise  :  — 

Your  committee  do  not  feel  themselves  called 


138  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

upon  to  enter  into  the  discussion  of  these  contro 
verted  questions  which  produced  the  sectional 
strife  and  the  fearful  struggles  of  1850,  so  your 
committee  are  not  now  prepared  to  recommend 
either  the  affirmation  or  rejection  of  the  eighth 
section  of  the  Compromise  Act  of  1820. 

This  famous  section,  fought  over  in  1820, 
provided  for  the  prohibition  of  slavery,  but 
the  return  of  fugitive  slaves  above  the  bound 
ary  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes, 
north  latitude,  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase. 

As  soon  as  Senator  Douglas  had  made  his 
report,  Senator  Dixon,  of  Kentucky,  gave  no 
tice  that  when  the  Nebraska  Bill  came  up  for 
consideration  he  would  offer  an  amendment 
for  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  Act. 

This  proposition  was  a  great  surprise  to  Senator 
Douglas,  who  went  at  once  to  Senator  Dixon  and 
earnestly  appealed  to  him  not  to  offer  his  amend 
ment  [testified  Mr.  Grow].  On  the  23d  of  January, 
1854,  to  the  surprise  of  many  Senators,  Douglas 
reported  a  substitute  for  his  original  bill,  making 
two  Territories  instead  of  one,  with  a  section  re 
pealing  the  Missouri  Compromise  Act. 

In  the  interval  between  the  reporting  of  the 
original  bill  and  the  substitute,  Senator  Douglas, 
Senator  Slidell,  and  myself  dined  at  the  house 
of  James  Campbell,  of  Pennsylvania,  who  was 
Pierce's  Postmaster-General.  After  dinner  Douglas 
and  Slidell  entered  into  a  lively  conversation  about 


THE  COMPROMISE   REPEALED     139 

the  proposed  legislation,  during  which  the  latter 
in  a  very  earnest  manner  said,  "Douglas,  you 
ought  to  make  one  Territory  and  repeal  the 
Missouri  Compromise." 

I  mentioned  to  Benton  that  I  had  dined  with 
Douglas  the  night  before,  and  that  he  seemed 
undecided  as  to  which  position  he  should  take  in 
the  Kansas  and  Nebraska  Bill,  and  was  fluctuat 
ing  in  his  views  about  slavery  expansion.  I  added 
that  I  believed  that  Douglas  was  inclined  to  lead 
the  Democracy  away  from  its  moorings. 

"My  God,  Galusha!"  cried  Benton,  "have  you 
the  faintest  idea  that  Steve  Douglas  is  leading  the 
Democracy  anywhere?  Why,  the  Democracy  has 
led  him  around  by  the  nose  for  years,  and  he's  got 
so  that  he  would  follow  it  to  hell  if  the  majority 
went  in  that  direction." 

His  bitterness  toward  Douglas  arose  from  the 
latter's  compromising  tendencies,  and  Benton  in 
sisted  he  ought  to  have  been  a  milliner,  as  "  trim 
ming  was  his  chief  vocation!" 

That  same  day  Senator  Douglas,  with  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  and  Philip  Phillips,  of 
Alabama,  both  members  of  the  House,  called  on 
Pierce  for  a  private  interview  relative  to  the  re 
peal  of  the  Missouri  Act.  In  a  conversation  with 
Douglas  afterwards,  he  told  me  that  the  President 
was  very  emphatic  in  expressing  his  opinion  that 
the  Missouri  Compromise  was  unconstitutional 
and  ought  to  have  been  repealed  in  the  struggles  of 
1850  when  the  Clay  Omnibus  Bill  was  passed. 

Douglas  said  that  he  suggested  to  the  President 
that  he  pencil  the  form  of  an  amendment  for  its 


140  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

repeal  to  be  added  to  the  pending  Nebraska  Bill. 
The  President  then  wrote  in  pencil  the  amendment 
and  handed  it  to  Senator  Douglas.  As  Douglas, 
Breckinridge,  and  Phillips  were  leaving  the  room, 
the  President  stopped  them  and  said,  "  I  wish  you 
would  go  and  see  Marcy." 

They  agreed  to  this  and  went  to  see  Marcy  at 
the  Department  of  State.  He  was  out,  and  as 
there  was  no  certainty  of  the  time  of  his  return  they 
hurried  back  to  the  Capitol.  The  amendment,  as 
the  President  had  written  it,  was,  in  a  day  or  two, 
presented  to  the  Senate.  Douglas  told  me  that  he 
kept  the  penciled  amendment  so  that  there  should 
not  be  any  misunderstanding  about  it  afterwards 
with  the  President. 

This  account  is  particularly  valuable  be 
cause  it  is  made  by  one  who  was  sufficiently  in 
touch  with  Douglas  at  that  time  to  hear  his 
side  of  the  incidents  which  made  so  great  a 
change  in  the  spirit  of  Congress,  and  it  differs 
in  some  degree  from  others;  for  instance,  the 
account  given  by  Seward's  biographer,  Lo- 
throp.  Grow,  not  at  all  in  favor  of  the  repeal, 
but  giving  this  interesting  side-light  on  Pierce's 
hand  in  the  beginning  of  the  matter,  would 
completely  refute  the  common  charge  of  col 
lusion  between  Seward  and  Dixon. 

Faithful  to  his  constituents  and  his  con 
science,  Grow  fought  the  repeal  with  all  the 


THE   COMPROMISE  REPEALED     141 

energy  and  eloquence  he  could  command,  and 
as  he  was  effective  and  ready  in  debate,  on 
his  shoulders  fell  a  fair  share  of  the  burden. 
Although  he  was  a  Democrat,  his  consistent 
stand  against  the  expansion  of  slavery  was  to 
his  mind  entirely  harmonious  to  the  best,  al 
though  the  minority,  Democratic  feeling.  In 
stating  his  position,  he  asserted  that  the  Com 
promise  had  in  the  first  place  been  accepted 
by  the  South;  that  no  injustice  had  been  done 
to  her  by  it;  and  that  her  voting  to  extend 
slavery  would  be  the  breaking  of  faith.  As  an 
early  and  constant  friend  of  the  Administra 
tion,  and  as  an  earnest  and  devoted  Democrat, 
he  announced  himself  as  desiring  the  defeat 
of  the  repeal.  Being  one  of  the  opponents  of 
the  measure  within  the  ranks  of  the  party,  he 
was  urged  to  compromise  his  beliefs  to  party 
policy;  the  leaders  argued  that  if  party  men 
did  not  stand  together  they  would  be  voting 
with  abolitionists. 

"  Is  there  any  man  upon  this  floor  so  craven," 
Grow  challenged  with  strong  feeling,  "that  he 
will  refuse  to  utter  his  deep  convictions  and 
vote  the  sentiments  of  his  heart  because  he  will 
stand  on  record  with  some  man  whose  opinion 
on  other  questions  he  does  not  approve?  If 


142  GALUSHA  A.  GROW  , 

the  representatives  of  the  South  would  strike 
down  true  men  of  the  North  forever,  they  have 
but  to  force  upon  them  the  passage  of  this  bill 
as  a  political  issue.  Its  passage  will  be  a  vio 
lation  of  a  compact  of  freedom  which  is  the 
last  breakwater  between  them  and  the  surges 
of  Northern  abolitionism."  Referring  to  Clay's 
stand  at  the  time  of  the  Compromises,  Grow 
had  quite  obviously  the  purpose  to  turn  the 
broadest-minded  of  the  Democrats  back  to 
that  position,  or  to  Benton's,  which  was  sim 
ilar.  It  seemed  only  to  madden  Southern 
Democrats  when  he  quoted  Clay's  response  to 
Jefferson  Davis,  "Coming  from  a  slave  State 
as  I  [Clay]  do,  I  owe  it  to  myself,  I  owe  it  to 
the  truth,  I  owe  it  to  the  subject,  to  say  that 
no  earthly  power  could  induce  me  to  vote  for 
a  specific  measure  for  the  introduction  of  slav 
ery  where  it  has  not  before  existed,  either  south 
or  north  of  that  line  [36°  30'].  I  am,  for  one, 
unwilling  that  the  posterity  of  the  present  in 
habitants  of  California  and  New  Mexico  shall 
reproach  us  for  doing  just  what  we  reproach 
Great  Britain  for  doing  for  us."  Grow  finished 
an  able  speech  by  scoring  the  fallacious  faith 
the  Southern  States  were  reposing  in  the  pro 
posal  to  find  relief  from  political  strife  by  dis- 


THE   COMPROMISE   REPEALED     143 

solution  of  the  Union.  Disunion  was  in  the 
air,  and  he  uttered  strong  protest  against  the 
security  Southern  advocates  expected  to  find 
in  it  —  "  the  security  of  despair,"  he  called  it, 
"  enveloped  in  darkness  and  woe." 

No  one  could  stem  the  tide.  The  repeal 
passed  the  House  by  a  small  majority.  It  had 
been  plain  that  the  fight  was  hopeless  in  the 
Senate,  and  the  leaders  there  had  been  bent 
mainly  upon  a  desperate  effort  to  prepare  the 
issue  for  the  House  and  the  country.  Seward's 
resigned  exclamation  was  echoed  in  the  House. 
"Heaven  be  thanked,"  he  said,  "that  since 
this  cup  of  humiliation  cannot  be  passed,  the 
struggle  of  draining  it  is  nearly  over." 

The  scene  in  the  upper  Chamber  upon  that 
famous  night  when  the  bill  passed  the  Senate 
Grow  described  as  very  impressive. 

Just  before  midnight  [May  25,  1854],  the  lobbies 
were  crowded  with  excited  spectators  who  had 
gathered  to  witness  the  finale  of  this  act,  and  many 
members  of  the  House  were  among  them.  A  mo 
ment  before  the  final  vote  was  taken,  Seward  rose 
and  faced  the  Southern  Senators  and  uttered  his 
memorable  words:  "The  sun  has  set  for  the  last 
time  upon  the  guaranteed  and  certain  liberties  of 
all  the  unsettled  and  unorganized  portions  of  the 
American  continent  that  lie  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States.  To-morrow's  sun  will  rise  in 


144  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

dim  eclipse  over  them.  How  long  that  obscuration 
will  last  is  known  only  to  the  Power  that  directs 
and  controls  human  events.  For  myself  I  know 
only  this,  that  now  no  human  power  will  prevent 
its  coming  on,  and  that  its  passing  off  will  be  has 
tened  and  secured  by  others  than  those  now  here, 
and  perhaps  by  only  those  belonging  to  future 
generations." 

Amid  profound  silence  David  R.  Atchison,  Presi 
dent  pro  tempore  of  the  Senate,  arose  and  pro 
claimed  that  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro 
mise  had  been  adopted  by  a  decisive  vote.  In  an 
instant  the  devotees  of  slavery  passed  into  a  delir 
ium  of  joy  over  what  they  thought  was  the  final 
and  lasting  triumph  of  slavery.  Cannon  boomed 
from  the  Maryland  and  Virginia  heights  surround 
ing  the  Capitol  and  reverberated  along  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac,  where,  within  six  years,  the  men 
of  the  North  were  to  meet  the  men  of  the  South 
in  a  deadly  combat  that  was  to  cost  ten  billions  of 
dollars  and  nearly  a  million  of  precious  lives. 

The  following  incident  occurred  after  the  bill 
passed  which  made  Nebraska  and  Kansas  slave 
territory.  George  W.  Kittredge,  a  member  of  the 
House  from  New  Hampshire,  in  my  presence  dur 
ing  a  conversation  with  Senator  Dixon  said,  "  When 
you  threatened  to  offer  your  amendment  to  repeal 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  had  you  any  idea  it 
would  pass?" 

"No,"  replied  Dixon,  "I  did  not  think  it  would 
be  possible,  but  I  always  believed  the  Compromise 
unconstitutional  and  that  it  never  ought  to  have 
been  enacted,  and  as  we  Whigs  were  in  a  minority, 


THE  COMPROMISE  REPEALED     145 

Senator  Jones,  of  Iowa,  agreed  with  me  that  I 
should  offer  the  amendment  and  that  we  both 
should  speak  on  it;  but  Douglas,  getting  the  en 
dorsement  of  the  President,  stole  a  march  on  me 
and  will  get  all  the  glory  there  is  in  its  passage!" 


CHAPTER  IX 

RESULTS   OF   THE   REPEAL 

WHILE  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
was  pending,  anti-Nebraska  Democrats  and 
anti-Nebraska  Whigs  each  separately  held  a 
number  of  special  conferences,  uncertain  what 
position  to  take  if  the  repeal  were  accomplished. 
When  it  was  evident,  ten  days  beforehand, 
that  the  repeal  would  occur,  they  hesitated 
no  longer.  A  joint  conference  of  all  anti- 
repealers  was  held  in  one  of  the  parlors  of  the 
National  Hotel,  Senator  Solomon  Foot  acting 
as  chairman,  and  Reuben  E.  Fen  ton,  of  New 
York,  Grow's  best  friend,  as  secretary. 

This  meeting  Grow  attended  and  called 
it  the  "seminal  beginning  of  the  Republican 
Party."  He  had  come  to  feel  that  his  friend 
the  blacksmith's  diagnosis  was  at  last  thor 
oughly  right  —  that  he  did  not  belong  in  the 
Democratic  Party,  if  it  stood  for  what  it  now 
appeared  to,  and  could  not  stay  in  it.  The 
wave  of  indignation  meetings  which  swept 
over  the  North,  at  last  aroused  by  the  repeal, 
testified  to  the  widespread  antagonism  created. 


DANIEL    FREEMAX,    THE    FIRST   HOMESTEADER,   AND 

GALUSHA    A.    GROW,     FATHER    OF    THE    HOMESTEAD 

LAW,  AT  THE  GROW  WELCOME   HOME   IX   MONTROSE, 

PENNSYLVANIA,  1903 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     147 

That  strong  feeling  practically  dismembered 
the  old  political  parties  as  they  existed  before 
May  30,  1854. 

The  great  mass  meeting  which  was  held  at 
Jackson,  Michigan,  composed  of  citizens  be 
longing  to  all  the  anti-expansion  parties,  was 
the  next  marked  step  toward  new  organization. 
At  this  meeting  Zachary  Chandler  was  a  con 
spicuous  figure  and  many  others  subsequently 
prominent  in  national  affairs.  The  repeal  was 
roundly  denounced  and  the  calling  of  a  state 
convention  of  all  citizens  opposed  to  the  ex 
tension  of  slavery  decided  upon. 

There  was  no  hall  large  enough  to  accom 
modate  the  crowd  which  responded  to  the 
invitation  to  meet  to  "take  such  measures 
as  shall  be  thought  best  to  concentrate  the 
popular  sentiment  of  the  State  against  the  en 
croachment  of  the  slave  power,"  so  the  meet 
ing  was  held  in  a  grove  of  oaks,  and  in  conse 
quence  the  meeting-place  of  the  convention  is 
known  to-day  as  "under-the-oaks."  It  was 
here  that  the  name  "Republican  "  was  adopted 
for  the  new  party  whose  cardinal  principle 
was  to  be  "no  further  extension  of  slavery." 
Horace  Greeley  had  suggested  the  name 
"Democratic-Republican,"  but  the  convention 


148  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

omitted  the  word  "Democratic,"  the  general 
sentiment  being  that  the  party  of  Jefferson  dur 
ing  his  administration  was  called  "Repub 
lican,"  and,  as  the  new  party  was  to  adopt  his 
policy  of  slavery  prohibition  in  the  Territories, 
that  name  would  be  most  fitting.  Grow  ac 
credited  to  the  meeting  in  Jackson,  Michigan, 
in  name  and  in  fact  the  birth  of  the  party. 

There  were  other  meetings  held  prior  to 
the  one  "under-the-oaks,"  but  proof  does  not 
appear  that  they  were  more  than  political  as 
semblages  mainly  representing  the  vicinage. 
None  of  them  seem  to  have  been  fully  author 
ized  delegate  conventions  representing  public 
sentiment  of  the  State.  So,  while  Amos  Tuck, 
chum  of  Lincoln  from  1847  to  1849,  may  have 
suggested  the  name  at  Exeter,  and  while  the 
Saratoga  and  Friendship  conventions  may 
have  talked  of  this  name,  Grow  considered 
these  previous  signs  as  constituting  merely  a 
period  of  political  pregnancy. 

Owing  mainly  to  Grow's  stand  on  the  re 
peal,  his  constituents  elected  him  unanimously 
to  his  third  term,  and  when  President  Pierce 
signed  the  bill  he  went  over  to  the  Republi 
can  Party.  It  is  striking  that,  although  Grow 
had  been  elected  in  the  first  instance  because 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     149 

Wilmot's  views  were  too  radical,  he  was  re- 
elected  repeatedly  on  a  platform  far  more  ad 
vanced  than  Wilmot's. 

Grow  found  himself  in  a  small  but  distin 
guished  company,  to  which  he  brought  very 
welcome  qualities.  Hale  and  his  followers  also 
entered  the  ranks  of  Republicanism;  Chase, 
Sumner,  Seward,  and  Wade,  together  with 
most  of  Grow's  best  friends,  were  whole 
heartedly  in  the  new  organization,  first  im 
portant  result  of  the  Repeal. 

One  of  the  first  issues  which  this  ardent 
group  had  to  deal  with  was  another  territo 
rial  matter,  fostered  under  Southern  care. 
Buchanan,  Secretary  of  War  in  Pierce's  Cabi 
net,  directed  by  private  letter  Romulus  W. 
Saunders,  then  our  Minister  at  Madrid,  to 
find  out,  in  a  quiet  way,  whether  the  Spanish 
Government  would  sell  to  the  United  States 
the  island  of  Cuba  at  a  price  not  exceeding 
a  hundred  million  dollars.  In  this  letter 
Buchanan  said,  "Do  not  send  any  written 
notes,  because  they  might  bind  the  next 
Government  against  us,  but  make  the  sugges 
tion." 

The  territory  looked  especially  attractive  to 
the  South  because  Cuba  would  naturally  be 


150  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

annexed  as  a  slaveholding  State,  and  the  addi 
tion  of  two  Democratic  Senators  was  a  desir 
able  achievement.  Forcible  seizure  was  urged 
by  some  Congressmen,  while  others  pleaded  on 
various  grounds  for  purchase.  Cass,  Northern 
Democrat,  urged  that  it  was  unwise  to  allow 
a  foreign  power  to  own  territory  so  near  our 
coast. 

Grow  and  all  Republicans  stood  with  Hale 
against  annexation  and  considered  Hale's  re 
tort  to  Cass  particularly  happy.  "The  Senator 
from  Michigan  favors  the  annexation  of  Cuba 
because  its  proximity  is  a  constant  menace  to 
our  welfare,  yet  every  night  of  his  life,  while 
he  is  at  home  in  Detroit,  he  can  throw  a 
stone  into  British  possessions  from  his  bed 
room  window!" 

By  the  end  of  that  session  Grow's  political 
convictions  had  become  settled  and  in  that 
hour  when  every  strong  man  counted  because 
parties  were  convulsed.  At  this  time  the  half- 
liquid  qualities  of  his  youth  seem  to  have 
become  crystallized.  The  needs  of  that  war 
which  had  already  begun,  although  without 
guns,  deepened  the  initiative,  boldness,  and 
forthrightness  of  his  nature  and  habit  to 
sound,  balanced  maturity.  A  fine  adminis- 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     151 

trative  quality  began  to  appear  as  he  worked 
efficiently  for  the  party  to  which  he  had  com 
mitted  his  hopes  of  service. 

In  the  new  alignment  of  men  and  parties  he 
felt  a  keen  ambition  to  make  at  least  some 
slight  study  of  other  governments  and  their 
institutions,  and  as  a  result,  in  the  inter 
mission  after  the  adjournment  of  Congress  in 
March,  1855,  Grow  went  to  Europe  with  some 
of  his  colleagues,  among  whom  were  E.  B. 
Washburne,  of  Illinois,  B.  Pringle  and  E.  D. 
Morgan,  of  New  York.  Besides  their  observa 
tion  of  such  political  and  economic  affairs  as 
were  comparable  to  our  own,  they  had  beguil 
ing  and  more  or  less  significant  experiences. 

They  reached  Paris  during  a  week  of  great 
interest  and  not  a  little  importance  in  the  fu 
ture  history  of  England  and  France.  It  was 
the  first  time  in  almost  five  hundred  years  that 
the  reigning  sovereign  of  England  had  visited 
France  as  a  guest.  Queen  Victoria  arrived  in 
Paris  accompanied  by  Prince  Albert,  the  Prin 
cess  Royal,  her  eldest  daughter,  and  the  Heir 
Apparent. 

Great  preparations  for  flattering  display  of 
grandeur  were  made  for  the  reception.  The 
streets  from  the  railroad  station  to  Saint- 


152  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Cloud,  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  were  lined  on 
each  side  with  soldiers  in  full  uniform,  both 
horse  and  foot,  numbering  about  ninety  thou 
sand  men.  For  the  whole  distance  flags  and 
buntings  were  suspended  along  the  streets. 
Paris  poured  its  inhabitants  forth  into  the 
avenues,  furnishing  to  Americans  of  those 
days  a  novel  sight,  for  it  was  literally  a  sea  of 
faces.  Even  the  roofs  were  populous. 

Grow  had  a  window  fronting  the  railroad 
station  to  see  the  royal  cortege  of  six  car 
riages,  with  four  horses  each,  and  two  pos 
tilions,  two  footmen,  and  two  outriders,  start 
on  its  way.  From  the  carriage  up  to  the  steps 
and  through  the  station  was  spread  a  fine 
carpet  for  their  Royal  Highnesses  to  walk  on. 
It  was  a  gala  spectacle  to  watch  them  come. 
Our  Americans  were  just  in  time.  The  Queen, 
Prince  Albert,  the  Princess  Royal,  and  the 
Emperor  entered  the  first  carriage  and  drove 
off,  followed  by  notables,  the  Imperial  Guards, 
and  equipages  of  other  guests. 

The  party  shared  in  the  festivities  of  this 
week,  and  George  Mason,  the  American  Minis 
ter,  secured  them  an  audience  with  Emperor 
Napoleon  and  Empress  Eugenie.  Grow  records 
in  an  interesting  autobiographical  note:  — 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     153 

During  the  conversation,  the  Emperor,  who  was 
at  one  time  in  this  country,  asked  Washburne  in 
what  part  of  the  United  States  he  resided.  Wash 
burne  replied,  "  Galena,  Illinois." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  said  the  Emperor,  "  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  lead  in  that  region.  What  do  you  Americans 
do  with  all  that  lead?" 

"We  sell  it  to  our  friends  and  give  it  to  our 
enemies!"  Washburne  answered,  at  which  the  Em 
peror  laughed  heartily. 

After  a  long  and  interesting  talk  with  His  Maj 
esty  we  were  conducted  by  Minister  Mason  into 
the  audience  room  of  the  Empress,  who  looked 
very  beautiful  and  received  us  most  graciously. 
She  spoke  English  with  a  pleasing  accent  and  di 
rected  her  questions  to  one  and  then  another  of  the 
party,  touching  many  subjects  and  seeming  well 
posted  on  them  all.  When  she  came  to  me  she 
remarked,  — 

"The  Emperor  has  told  me  much  of  your  coun 
try,  the  grand  scenery  and  the  vast  extent  of  terri 
tory.  You  seem  to  have  more  land  than  you  know 
what  to  do  with." 

I  began,  "  Your  Majesty,  we  have  sixteen  hun 
dred  millions  of  acres  of  unsettled  lands  — " 

She  naively  interrupted,  "Yet  there  is  a  little 
spot  you  want  very  much-  '  (meaning  Cuba). 
"  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  this  unoccupied 
domain?" 

"  We  are  going  to  give  it  free  to  your  countrymen 
and  others  when  they  come  to  live  among  us,"  I 
answered. 

"Oh!"  she  exclaimed,  "how  wonderful  that  a 


154  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

young  nation  can  do  such  generous  things  for  its 
people!" 

After  a  lengthy  audience,  Mr.  Mason,  who  was 
an  elderly  gentleman  with  white  hair,  turned  grace 
fully  to  the  Empress.  "  Your  Majesty,  we  must  go 
now,  for  I  see  that  these  young  gentlemen  are  fall 
ing  in  love  with  the  first  lady  of  France." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  smiled.  "I 
should  be  only  too  proud  if  I  knew  that  I  had 
inspired  them  with  respect." 

Later  they  were  escorted  by  Donn  Piatt, 
then  Secretary  to  the  American  Legation  in 
Paris,  to  a  grand  ball  given  in  honor  of  Queen 
Victoria,  the  Prince  Consort,  and  those  in 
waiting.  But  ten  Americans  were  invited. 
Court  dress,  composed  of  a  military  coat  with 
gold  lace  around  collars  and  sleeves,  black  and 
white  trousers  with  yellow  lace  around  the 
sides,  white  vest  and  cravat,  sword  and  cha- 
peau,  was  imperative.  Grow  wrote :  — 

I  engaged  my  suit,  and  if  some  of  my  bark- 
peelers  could  have  seen  me  with  that  uniform  on 
they  would  have  wondered  who  I  was!  I  hardly 
knew  myself  when  I  had  it  all  on  at  once.  But 
there  was  no  admittance  without  a  "  wedding  gar 
ment,"  as  Washburne  called  it,  and  I  was  bound 
to  go,  for  it  was  the  only  royal  ball  I  ever  expected 
to  attend,  and  a  bachelor  like  myself  would  have 
had  a  cold  heart  indeed  to  decline  an  invitation  to 
attend  a  ball  graced  by  the  Queen  of  England  and 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     155 

the  Empress  of  France.  Since  meeting  the  Empress 
in  private  audience  I  felt  that  if  she  should  appear 
as  well  in  the  ballroom  as  she  did  in  private  con 
versation  she  would  be  the  center  of  attraction,  for 
there  could  be  no  more  fascinating  person  than 
Eugenie  in  those  days  of  her  glory. 

It  was  not  disappointing  —  a  very  brilliant 
affair,  and  every  conceivable  uniform  from  the 
Orient  and  the  Occident  was  on  parade.  If  the 
gowns  of  the  ladies  were  as  high  in  the  price  as  low 
in  the  neck,  the  cost  must  have  been  staggering. 
On  the  whole,  my  colleagues  and  I  were  enter 
tained  by  the  splendor  and  gayety  the  scene  pre 
sented. 

Grow's  "on  the  whole"  suggests  that  they 
found  the  clothes  or  the  ceremony  somewhat 
trying,  but  at  least  the  experience  was  a  very 
rich  one  for  recollection. 

The  party  went  on  in  a  few  days  across  the 
Alps,  from  Geneva  over  the  Mont  Cenis  Pass 
to  Milan  and  by  Genoa  to  Rome,  which  they 
reached  in  time  to  witness  the  annual  illumi 
nation  of  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican.  The 
Pope  was  then  recognized  as  the  temporal 
sovereign,  and  the  affair  was  novel  and  enter 
taining  to  strangers.  Going  from  Rome  by 
diligence  to  Naples,  they  climbed  Vesuvius  to 
see  a  sunset  from  its  ashen  summit.  After 
examining  the  ruins  of  Herculaneum  and 


156  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Pompeii,  instead  of  going  to  the  Crimea  as  they 
had  planned,  they  returned  to  Rome  because 
cholera  was  prevalent  in  the  peninsula.  There 
is  a  true  American  enthusiasm  in  Grow's  state 
ment  that  they  "took  in"  Venice,  Florence, 
Lake  Como.  They  recrossed  the  Alps  with 
visits  at  Zurich  and  Lucerne. 

Grow  seems  particularly  to  have  enjoyed 
the  lake  at  Altdorf,  finding  the  little  temple 
where  it  is  said  that  Tell,  after  he  had  shot  the 
apple  from  the  head  of  his  son  and  threatened 
the  tyrant  Gessler  with  another  arrow,  made 
his  escape  in  a  boat  while  the  lake  was  in  the 
throes  of  a  violent  tempest.  Also  he  was 
highly  amused,  after  asking  the  guide  to  act  as 
interpreter  while  he  asked  the  captain  of  the 
little  steamer  about  the  historic  places  on  the 
lake,  to  have  the  heretofore  mute  master  of 
the  vessel  speak  up  in  very  good  English,  "I 
was  raised  in  Vermont  and  ran  a  steamboat 
on  the  Hudson  River  from  New  York  to  Al 
bany  for  eight  years ! " 

After  a  stop  at  Basle,  interesting  because  of 
its  immense  wealth,  they  entered  the  Rhine 
Valley,  stopping  at  Baden-Baden.  There  they 
saw  something  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  coun 
try.  The  gambling-house  was  even  then  one  of 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     157 

the  finest  buildings  of  the  place,  fitted  up  in 
good  style  with  a  large  ballroom,  and  open 
at  all  hours,  —  "Sundays  same  as  any  other 
day."  They  were  greatly  struck  by  the  sight 
of  well-dressed  ladies  at  the  gaming-table  bet 
ting  largely  from  morning  till  as  late  at  night 
as  the  party  stayed. 

The  fact  that  there  were  no  Sabbaths  on 
the  Continent,  that  the  day  was  devoted  to 
pleasure  and  amusement,  that  there  were  no 
more  people  to  be  seen  in  the  churches,  seems 
to  have  astonished  Grow.  "State  religion  had 
a  class  set  apart  to  attend  to  such  affairs,"  he 
writes.  "Just  as  there  was  a  class  to  govern, 
there  was  a  class  to  worship,  and  the  people 
seemed  to  think  it  was  their  business,  that 
they  were  paid  for  it  and  should  attend  to 
it.  They  left  religion  to  women  and  children 
largely."  j 

Equally  bewildering  to  him,  who  instinc 
tively  cherished  old-time  American  reverence 
for  women,  was  the  want  of  courtesy  toward 
ladies.  That  they  were  paid  no  deference,  that 
men  did  not  offer  their  seats  or  make  room 
seems  to  have  made  him  feel  shame  for  his  sex. 

You  could  see  anywhere,  especially  in  Italy, 
ladies  carrying  the  carpet-bags,  with  shawls, 


158  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

umbrellas,  and  one  or  two  children  to  care  for, 
elbowing  their  way  through  a  crowd  while  their 
husbands  or  the  gentlemen  accompanying  them 
leisurely  picked  their  way  along  where  it  was  most 
convenient  without  offering  relief.  .  .  .  The  more 
an  American  sees  of  Europe,  unless  wedded  to 
antiquity  or  dazzled  by  the  glitter  and  pomp  of 
royalty,  the  more  strongly  attached  does  he  be 
come  to  the  institutions  of  his  own  country.  There 
was  no  spot  I  saw  after  leaving  New  York  that  any 
consideration  would  induce  me  to  make  my  per 
manent  home. 

The  institutions  and  the  character  of  the  Amer 
ican  people  were  at  that  time  just  beginning  to  be 
understood  in  Europe.  Our  steamers  were  making 
the  fastest  trips  across  the  ocean.  Our  yachts  were 
beating  the  fastest  of  the  English  clubs  out  of 
sight  in  a  few  hours'  sail.  Our  agricultural  and 
labor-saving  machines  were  taking  the  first  pre 
miums  in  world  exhibitions;  and  our  commerce 
was  not  much  less  than  that  of  England  and  rap 
idly  increasing.  Reflecting  men  inquired,  "  How 
has  all  this  been  accomplished  in  a  half -century?" 
and  "  What  will  Americans  be,  at  the  rate  they  are 
going,  at  the  end  of  fifty  years?" 

I  found  that  national  pride  was  markedly 
wounded  that  Commodore  Perry  should  have  suc 
ceeded  in  accomplishing  two  years  before  what 
they  had  failed  in  centuries  of  accomplishing,  a 
hurt  not  softened  by  the  fact  that  Japanese  officials 
had  informed  Commodore  Perry,  after  the  conclu 
sion  of  negotiations,  that  it  had  been  their  design 
that  their  first  treaty  of  commercial  intercourse 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL     159 

with  any  nation  should  be  with  the  people  of 
Washington.  That  they  knew  Washington's  his 
tory,  and  were  well  informed  about  almost  every 
thing  relating  to  America,  was  the  secret  of  our 
success  where  others  failed. 

Going  from  Mayence  by  steamer  to  Rotter 
dam,  where  the  great  German  river  loses  itself 
in  the  sea  near  Delftshaven,  the  party  all 
agreed  that  some  fitting  memorial  should  be 
erected  by  the  descendants  of  the  Mayflower 
to  mark  the  historic  spot  from  which  the  Pil 
grims  departed  in  the  Speedwell  to  join  their 
Mayflower  companions  at  Plymouth  on  their 
eventful  voyage  to  the  New  World.  In  the 
stirring  events  which  followed  their  return  the 
patriotic  project  was  never  carried  out.  Am 
sterdam,  The  Hague,  Brussels,  the  field  of 
Waterloo,  Paris,  England,  Scotland,  and  Wales 
took  the  remainder  of  the  time  until  October, 
and  they  made  some  survey  of  the  old  systems 
of  land  tenures. 

Then  they  returned  home  to  find  the  United 
States  still  in  a  turmoil  over  slavery,  "but 
nevertheless  a  delightful  country  in  which  to 
have  our  being.  The  truth  is  it  makes  an  indif 
ferent  American  a  good  one  to  see  Europe  with 
its  civilization,  habits,  and  customs,  for  he 


160  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

then  fully  realizes  the  blessings  of  free  govern 
ment  and  the  marvelous  heritage  our  fore 
fathers  left  to  us  and  future  generations,"  con 
cluded  Grow.  Certainly  by  new  contacts  he 
himself  escaped  many  provincial  contractions 
of  view. 

The  period  to  which  they  returned  was  most 
interesting,  for  the  fledgling  Republican  Party 
faced  its  most  important  fights.  Upon  the 
convening  of  Congress  occurred  probably  the 
most  exciting  contest  for  the  Speakership 
which  ever  took  place.  Nathaniel  P.  Banks, 
the  "Bobbin  Boy"  of  Massachusetts,  was  the 
first  Republican  nominee.  William  Aiken,  of 
South  Carolina,  was  the  Democratic  candi 
date.  Perhaps  it  was  partly  the  fact  that 
Banks  was  a  Know-Nothing  as  well  which 
made  the  election  so  thrilling. 

Public  sentiment  had  given  the  anti-slavery 
men  an  opportunity  to  secure  control  of  the 
House.  The  classification  of  members  was, 
Democrats,  79;  Anti-Nebraskans  (including 
all  anti-slavery  expansionists),  117;  37  Whigs 
and  Know-Nothings  inclined  to  favor  slavery. 
The  loss  of  Democrats  from  the  previous  ses 
sion  was  78.  Beginning  December  3  the  fight 
for  the  Speakership  lasted  two  solid  months, 


RESULTS  OF  THE  REPEAL  '  161 

until  February  3.  Balloting  for  Speaker  was 
all  the  House  did,  practically,  except  to  in 
dulge  in  acrimonious  discussions  under  the 
five-minute  rule  concerning  the  influence  and 
effect  of  the  Repeal. 

After  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  ballots 
the  country  grew  very  restless  and  weary  at 
the  prolonged  contest.  A  general  cry  arose 
for  the  House  to  elect  a  Speaker  and  do  busi 
ness  or  to  adjourn  without  delay.  Whereupon 
Cobb  (personified  Democracy!)  offered  a  re 
solution  declaring  Aiken  Speaker,  describing 
it  as  "an  olive  branch  of  peace." 

Forthwith  Elihu  Washburne,  to  the  great 
delight  of  the  Republicans,  moved  to  "lay  the 
olive  branch  on  the  table!"  The  balloting 
went  on.  After  one  hundred  and  thirty  ballots, 
the  House  finally  declared  by  resolution  that 
after  three  more  ballots  without  choice  the 
candidate  who  received  the  highest  number  of 
votes  in  the  next  division  would  be  declared 
elected,  regardless  of  the  absence  of  the  ma 
jority  of  the  whole  vote. 

The  Republicans,  Grow  among  them,  were 
wild  with  excitement.  It  meant  a  signal  success 
to  the  new  party  if  they  could  elect  their  choice. 
On  the  next  three  ballots  Banks  received  102 


162  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

votes;  Aiken,  93;  and  the  other  candidates,  30. 
The  clerk  called  the  roll  of  the  one  hundred 
and  thirty -third  ballot,  which  would  be  deci 
sive.  The  tally  was:  Banks,  103;  Aiken,  100. 

Banks  was  declared  elected.  Enthusiasm 
reigned  in  the  new  party.  Some  of  the  Demo 
cratic  members  attempted  to  question  the 
legality  of  his  election,  but  Aiken  magnani 
mously  declared  that  it  was  fair,  and  forced  his 
colleagues  to  accept  defeat  with  such  grace  as 
they  might  command. 

Declaring  that  such  an  exhibition  of  fanati 
cism  would  never  again  be  heard  of,  the  Demo 
crats  grudgingly  gave  way,  refusing  to  recog 
nize  this  first  victory  as  the  beginning  of  a 
great  political  revolution  in  the  land,  fruit  of 
that  Repeal  which  in  the  long  run  was  to  ad 
vantage  the  North. 


CHAPTER  X 

KANSAS:  AND  KEITT  vs.  GROW 

AFTER  five  years  in  Congress  it  had  become 
fully  recognized  that  land  was  Grow's  medium; 
he  worked  in  land  as  a  sculptor  works  in  clay. 
"Grow's  got  an  idea  about  the  West  and  a 
feeling  for  it,"  was  about  the  way  his  associ 
ates  phrased  it.  His  training  in  the  Indian 
Affairs  Committee  had  made  him  familiar 
with  the  "hither  edge  of  free  land,"  —  the 
successive  frontiers,  —  and  had  brought  him 
along  the  road  of  his  absorbing  interest,  giving 
him  an  understanding  of  transmontane  condi 
tions.  His  promotion  to  about  as  important  a 
place  as  Banks  had  in  his  gift,  where  matters 
of  land  policy  and  slavery  must  necessarily 
focus,  gave  him  an  enviable  post  from  which 
to  watch  all  the  fascinating  aspects  of  migrant 
America,  to  hear  the  steady  tramp  of  oncom 
ing  Europe,  and  to  study  the  curious  "cross- 
fertilization  of  ideas  and  institutions."  Here, 
dealing  with  partition  of  territory,  he  had  to 
scheme  out  the  fundamentals  of  a  formative 


164  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

society;  determining  the  civil  relations  of  in 
habitants. 

Kansas,  focal  object  in  the  national  brain  in 
1856,  had  been  one  of  Grow's  chief  concerns 
since  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
Slavery  was  never  forgotten.  The  invasion  of 
the  State  the  previous  year,  when  Missouri 
tried  to  usurp  her  rights,  had  resulted  in  the 
Republican  Party  declaring  for  "Free  Kansas," 
and  Grow  felt  deeply  on  the  subject.  On  the 
opening  of  the  session,  he  led  a  fight  which 
prevented  the  seating  of  the  Kansas  delegate, 
Whitfield,  the  House  deciding  after  his  arraign 
ment  that  no  election  had  been  held. 

Then  the  assault  on  Sumner  occurred,  on 
May  22,  close  on  the  heels  of  his  bitter  speech 
on  the  "Crime  against  Kansas."  Lawrence 
M.  Keitt  was  Preston  S.  Brooks'  companion 
when  the  latter  struck  Sumner  over  the  head 
with  a  heavy  bludgeon,  not  only  sending  him 
unconscious  and  bleeding  to  the  floor,  but 
crippling  him  for  three  years.  Keitt,  who  at 
first  kept  back  all  who  came  to  the  rescue, 
was  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Senate.  The 
House,  however,  to  Mr.  Grow's  entire  satis 
faction,  censured  him  severely.  Keitt,  of  whom 
we  shall  hear  more  later,  was  nevertheless 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     165 

promptly  reflected.  Grow  had  no  faint  con 
ception  at  the  time  of  this  incident  that  the 
day  would  come  when  Keitt  would  lie  prone 
upon  the  floor  battered  by  a  blow  from  his 
good  right  arm. 

The  acridity  of  spirit  between  slaveholder 
and  abolitionist  was  not  one  whit  greater  than 
that  between  pro-  and  anti-expansionist,  and 
in  both  Houses  there  was  constant  clash  on 
the  rights  of  Kansas.  Grow  aroused  particular 
antagonism  by  introducing,  a  few  weeks  after 
the  assault  on  Sumner,  a  bill  for  the  admission 
of  Kansas  as  a  free  State,  a  step  he  considered 
her  only  possible  relief.  In  the  closing  debate 
upon  it  he  protested  the  outrages  and  wrongs 
that  had  been  committed, — freedom  of  speech 
denied;  printing-presses  destroyed;  incendia 
rism;  persons  stopped  and  searched;  papers 
seized  without  legal  process,  —  all  because  the 
citizens  declared  that  slavery  was  an  evil  and 
objected  to  its  introduction. 

He  continued  his  aggressive  policy  by  con 
troverting  Alexander  Stephens,  who  attrib 
uted  these  troubles  to  causes  other  than  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise;  Grow  said 
that  the  repeal  was  for  the  purpose  of  opening 
the  way  to  make  Kansas  a  slave  State,  that  it 


166  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

was  a  conspiracy  from  the  start  and  had  been 
carried  out  with  violence  and  brute  force.  He 
made  a  strong  appeal  to  the  South  to  restore 
peace  and  harmony  to  the  Republic  by  admit 
ting  Kansas  with  a  free  constitution  and  de 
sisting  from  the  attempt  to  nationalize  the 
institution  of  human  bondage. 

The  battle  on  the  bill,  which  passed  the 
House  but  was  tabled  in  the  Senate,  and  on 
the  Douglas-Toombs  measure  for  the  "pacifi 
cation"  of  Kansas,  cleared  the  way  for  titanic 
work  which  the  party  had  on  hand.  On  the 
Douglas-Toombs  Act  Grow  made  a  direct, 
forceful,  nobly  spoken  attack,  and  although 
this  speech  was  made  when  he  was  ill,  it  was 
free  from  a  certain  floridity  and  repetition 
which  sometimes  marred  his  utterances.  He 
revealed  the  faults  of  the  measure,  showing 
that  if  the  bill  passed  Congress  would  recog 
nize  slavery  as  legally  established  in  the  Ter 
ritories.  It  provided  for  the  appointment  of 
commissioners  to  take  an  enumeration  of  the 
people  who  should  vote  and  to  apportion  the 
members  of  a  convention  to  form  a  constitu 
tion  for  Kansas  which  they  were  not  compelled 
to  submit  to  a  vote  of  the  people.  It  relieved 
the  inhabitants  of  none  of  their  grievances, 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     167 

nor  were  any  of  the  many  laws  legalizing  and 
sanctioning  slavery  changed. 

This  able  speech  had  a  personal  reaction 
on  Grow.  Feeling  went  higher  every  moment. 
Frank  and  courageous,  moved  fundamentally 
by  large  purposes,  he  was  conspicuous  in  the 
House.  Southern  antagonism  localized  against 
him.  Furthermore,  he  persisted  in  his  effort 
to  clear  up  this  matter  which  was  making  war. 
It  essentially  affected  the  land,  and  he  hoped 
that,  once  settled,  the  way  would  be  clearer  for 
other  policies  he  was  bound  to  propose  again. 
He  answered  President  Buchanan,  who  in  his 
Annual  Message  had  defended  the  border  ruf 
fians.  Buchanan  had  written:  — 

If  the  passionate  rage  and  fanaticism  of  partisan 
spirit  did  not  force  the  fact  upon  our  attention,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  believe  that  any  considerable 
portion  of  the  people  of  this  enlightened  country 
should  have  so  surrendered  themselves  to  fanatical 
devotion  to  the  supposed  interests  of  the  relatively 
few  Africans  in  the  United  States  as  to  totally 
abandon  and  disregard  the  interests  of  twenty-five 
million  Americans. 

Grow  retorted  from  the  floor  of  the  House :  — 

The  men  of  the  North  have  not  surrendered 
themselves  to  "  the  supposed  interests  of  the  rela 
tively  few  Africans  in  the  United  States."  The 


168  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

rights  of  the  citizens  of  Kansas  are  the  rights  of 
twenty-five  millions  of  Americans,  and  the  wrongs 
of  one  should  be  adopted  as  the  wrongs  of  the 
other.  If  the  rights  of  one  man  in  this  country  can 
be  trampled  by  legislative  enactment,  the  rights 
of  all  may  be.  When  men  are  disfranchised  by  law 
and  the  law  rests  upon  the  Government  for  validity 
and  sanction,  it  comes  home  to  every  person,  no 
matter  in  what  part  of  the  Republic  he  lives;  and 
he  who  would  sit  quietly  down  and  permit  wrong 
and  injustice  to  be  done  to  a  citizen  of  the  country 
when  he  can  prevent  it  is  guilty  of  a  dereliction  of 
duty.  The  supervision  of  all  their  legislation  being 
under  control  of  Congress,  let  it  remove  from  the 
people  these  odious  enactments  which  the  Presi 
dent  has  declared  must  be  enforced  and  secure 
them  the  free  and  undisturbed  exercise  of  their 
civil  rights  and  privileges. 

Nor  did  he  cease  his  activities  here.  He 
brought  in  a  measure  to  authorize  the  payment 
for  property  taken  or  destroyed  under  color  of 
law.  This  he  followed  by  a  bill  for  the  repeal 
of  the  existing  statutes  in  Kansas.  His  persist 
ence  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  rabid  among 
slavery  men.  His  sincere  hard  labor  for  some 
settlement,  in  face  of  their  disapproval,  fur 
nishes  at  least  partial  refutation  of  the  charge 
that  Republicans  wished  "to  keep  the  wounds 
of  Kansas  bleeding  while  their  adversaries 
wished  to  bind  them  up." 


KANSAS  — KEITT  vs.  GROW     169 

Urged  to  be  a  candidate  for  Speaker  in  1857, 
Grow  refused  because  he  did  not  think  his 
chances  especially  good.  James  L.  Orr,  of 
South  Carolina,  got  the  place,  defeating  John 
Sherman.  That  year  in  the  hot  debate  on 
whether  or  not  it  was  expedient  to  limit  the 
African  slave  trade,  Grow  was  unlucky  enough 
further  to  augment  antagonism.  When  South 
ern  men  proposed  to  "postpone"  a  vote,  he 
repeatedly  interposed  objections.  The  reso 
lution  passed  stating  clearly  the  opposition 
of  Congress  to  any  reopening  of  the  slave 
trade. 

In  constant  opposition  to  Democratic  tac 
tics,  his  persistence  was  maddening,  his  oppo 
nents  thought.  On  the  offensive  his  personal 
force  was  like  a  powerful  projectile;  on  the 
defensive  he  had  a  resistance  which  was  im 
mense  because  he  never  lost  his  head.  He  had 
not  great  rhetoric,  or,  as  they  used  to  say  in 
those  days,  "metaphysics,"  but  his  skill  was 
ample.  "This  being  objection  day  ..."  he 
would  begin  and  prevent  the  introduction  of 
pet  Southern  measures.  His  manner  was  quiet, 
but  on  occasion  aggressive,  and  he  reaped  hos 
tility  that  his  friends  sowed  because  of  his 
loyalty  to  them. 


170  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

One  of  these  friends,  Owen  Lovejoy,  speak 
ing  on  slavery  one  day  could  not  refrain  from 
caustic  and  bitter  remarks,  which  acted  like  a 
royal  bread  poultice  that  draws  infection  to 
an  inflamed  head.  Potter,  another  friend,  of 
different  caliber,  but  withal  a  brave,  stable, 
faithful  fellow,  upheld  Lovejoy  when  the  pro- 
slavery  radicals  attempted  to  silence  him. 

Roger  Pryor,  member  from  Virginia,  able 
lawyer  and  debater,  took  exception  the  follow 
ing  day  to  a  remark  of  Potter's  which  was  pub 
lished  in  the  " Globe,"  "The  Republican  side 
of  the  House  shall  be  heard  from,  let  the  con 
sequence  be  what  it  may!"  Pryor  declared 
that  Potter  had  not  used  the  words  as  recorded, 
but  had  doctored  them  for  the  printer,  and 
therefore  he  had  them  erased  from  the  records. 
Potter  said  that  he  had  them  inserted  because 
they  had  been  inserted  by  the  reporter  and 
that  Pryor  had  erased  them  without  his  knowl 
edge,  which  he  had  no  right  to  do. 

Whereupon  Pryor  challenged  Potter  to  a 
duel.  The  choice  of  weapons  lying  with  Potter, 
he  named  bowie  knives.  Pryor  immediately 
rejected  this  proposal  as  barbarous.  Lander, 
Potter's  second,  immediately  challenged  Pry- 
or's  second  to  fight  with  any  weapons  he  chose. 


KANSAS  -  KEITT  vs.  GROW     171 

This  offer  was  also  rejected  and  the  affair  blew 
over  without  a  duel. 

Although  they  never  fought,  the  incident 
made  Potter  popular  throughout  the  North, 
especially  in  his  own  State,  the  general  hys 
teria  of  the  time  being  such  that  people  North 
and  South  were  glad  their  representatives 
showed  spirit  even  to  the  point  of  personal 
combat  when  what  they  considered  their  per 
sonal  rights  were  assailed. 

Grow  hated  such  rows,  but  he  greatly  en 
joyed  the  stories  of  the  day  which  hinged 
on  the  episode.  An  old  German  member  was 
asked,  while  both  Potter  and  Pryor  were 
absent  from  the  House,  conferring  about  the 
duel,  "  Where  is  Pryor?  "  "  Oh,"  he  replied, "  I 
dink  he  iss  in  der  hands  of  der  Potter."  And 
when  some  one  inquired  where  Potter  was,  he 
answered,  "He  has  dot  Pryor  engagement!" 

There  was  very  little  fun  in  the  general  sit 
uation,  however.  Rancor  gained  on  both  sides. 
Keitt  roused  the  ire  of  Grow  and  all  Republi 
cans  by  repudiation  of  the  name  "National 
Democrat,"  giving  as  his  reason,  "...  because 
I  hold  the  Constitution  to  be  a  treaty  between 
sovereign  States  and  that  this  Government  is 
not  a  Nation."  When  one  considers  the  strife 


172  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

and  turbulence  of  the  hour  and  sectional  feel 
ing  at  high  tide,  one  cannot  wonder  that  the 
moment  for  personal  encounter  should  again 
arrive.  This  time  Grow  himself  was  involved. 

The  occasion  arose  during  a  debate  concern 
ing  President  Buchanan's  Message  of  1858  on 
the  Lecompton  Constitution,  that  pro-slavery 
instrument  foisted,  against  the  majority  will, 
upon  the  people  of  Kansas,  who  had  just 
elected  a  legislature  which  refused  to  recognize 
the  illegal  act.  President  Buchanan,  dominated 
by  Southern  Democratic  influence,  favored 
the  Lecompton  document,  but  there  were 
sufficient  Northern  Democrats  opposed  to  it 
to  compass  its  defeat.  Fresh  bitterness  was 
engendered  by  the  audacity  of  the  Lecomp- 
tonites,  and  fierce  words  were  constantly  being 
passed. 

During  the  afternoon  of  Friday,  February  5, 
1858,  Alexander  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  moved 
to  refer  the  Message  to  the  Committee  on  Ter 
ritories.  Two  other  proposals  were  up,  one  to 
refer  it  to  a  special  committee  of  eleven  and 
the  other  insisting  upon  a  larger  committee  of 
fifteen.  A  filibuster  began  which  continued 
throughout  the  night,  and  by  the  time  the 
session  was  encroaching  on  early  morning  the 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     173 

members,  fagged  and  weary,  were  in  an  ugly 
mood. 

Grow,  the  whip  of  the  Republican  Party, 
watched  every  move.  When  a  Mississippian, 
Quitman,  asked  unanimous  consent  to  make 
a  suggestion,  which  meant  a  speech,  Grow 
objected.  He  wanted  voting,  not  talking.  He 
passed  across  the  Chamber  to  the  Democratic 
side  to  confer  with  Hickman,  of  Pennsylvania. 

Lawrence  Keitt  was  unable  to  control  his 
quick-boiling  anger.  He  cried  out  indignantly, 
"If  you  want  to  object,  go  back  to  your  side 
of  the  House,  you  black  Republican  puppy!" 

Grow  defiantly  replied,  "I  will  object  when 
and  where  I  please!" 

Keitt  instantly  arose,  and  followed  by  Jeff 
Davis's  brother  Reuben,  approached  Grow 
threateningly.  He  demanded,  "What  do  you 
mean  by  such  an  answer?" 

"I  mean  just  what  I  said,"  Grow  replied 
stoutly.  "This  Hall  belongs  to  the  American 
people.  I  shall  stay  in  it  where  I  please  and 
no  slave-driver  shall  crack  his  \:hip  over  my 
head." 

Stung  by  his  reply  and  urged  on  by  Davis, 
Keitt  made  a  lunge  at  Grow's  throat,  and 
catching  hold  of  his  old-fashioned  choker, 


174  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

was  about  to  strike  him  when  Grow,  in  self- 
defense,  pushed  him  back  and  landed  a  bark- 
spudder's  blow  under  Keitt's  right  ear  which 
sent  him  limp  and  whipped  to  the  floor. 

Great  commotion  followed,  and  the  entire 
House  was  involved  at  once  in  a  rough-and- 
tumble  fight.  Instantly  the  center  aisle  in 
front  of  the  Speaker's  desk  was  packed  with 
an  excited  crowd.  Mob  spirit  descended;  each 
lawmaker  struck  a  lawless  blow  wherever  op 
ponent  could  be  reached.  Republicans  rushed 
to  the  defense  of  Grow  and  Democrats  of 
Keitt. 

John  Covode,  of  Pennsylvania,  marched 
down  the  side  aisle  with  an  old  earthen  cus 
pidor  in  his  hand. 

As  he  passed  Richard  Mott,  a  peace-loving 
Quaker  from  Ohio,  Mott  cried  out,  "Whither 
goest  thou,  Brother  John,  with  thy  earthen 
spittoon?" 

"To  fight  for  Grow  with  this  weapon!" 
shouted  Covode,  waving  the  cuspidor  on  high. 

"Peace  be  with  thee,  brother,"  counseled 
Mott,  "but  if  thou  must  fight  for  Galusha,  aim 
thy  spittoon  well,  John,  and  hit  the  mark!" 
And  with  this  he  followed  Covode  into  the 
fight  and  got  badly  damaged! 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     175 

Southern  leaders  —  like  Barksdale,  Davis, 
Quitman  —  rushed  up  to  succor  Keitt.  Barks- 
dale  caught  Grow  in  both  arms  and  "Bowie- 
knife"  Potter,  moving  through  the  crowd, 
striking  out  right  and  left,  saw  Barksdale 
clinched  with  Grow,  and  hauling  off,  delivered 
a  fierce  blow  on  Barksdale's  back.  Grow  threw 
off  Barksdale,  who,  recovering,  saw  Elihu 
Washburne  handy  and  grabbed  him  around 
the  waist. 

At  this  moment  Cadwallader  Washburn, 
spying  his  brother  in  the  arms  of  Barksdale, 
struck  the  Mississippian  a  glancing  blow  on 
the  back  of  the  head,  knocking  off  his  ponder 
ous  wig,  which  fell  to  the  floor. 

The  melee  had  reached  the  danger  point. 
Barksdale,  who  was  sensitive  about  his  hair- 
lessness,  grabbed  up  the  wig,  and  in  his  haste 
clapped  it  on  bottom  side  up!  The  moment 
the  wig  landed  on  the  Barksdale  pate  a  roar 
of  laughter  burst  forth.  Every  one  stopped  to 
look  for  the  cause.  The  unwigging  of  Barks- 
dale  saved  the  Chamber  what  might  have  been 
a  bloody  scene.  If  the  fight  had  not  paused, 
the  bitterness  of  those  days  might  have  led  to 
the  production  of  those  firearms  which  made 
the  House  nothing  but  a  concealed  arsenal. 


176  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

In  the  lull  in  the  rumpus  Speaker  Orr  called 
loudly  for  the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  who  had  just 
put  Keitt  into  one  of  the  cloak-rooms.  He 
came,  holding  his  mace  above  the  combatants, 
and  finally  restored  comparative  order;  after 
which,  with  traces  of  confusion,  the  House 
adjourned. 

The  next  day  Keitt  apologized  to  the 
House :  — 

It  is  due  to  fair  dealing  that  I  should  assume  all 
responsibility  for  the  act  involving  a  violation  of 
the  House,  its  dignity,  and  decorum.  I  was  the 
aggressor  and  whatever  responsibility  attached  to 
the  act,  it  properly  belongs  to  me  alone.  It  was, 
however,  casual,  sudden,  accidental.  It  is  due  to 
justice  that  I  should  make  whatever  reparation  is 
in  my  power.  ...  I  do  that  in  the  expression  of  my 
profound  regret  at  the  occurrence.  Personal  col 
lisions  are  always  unpleasant,  seldom  excusable, 
rarely  justifiable,  and  never  in  a  legislative  body. 
If  any  blow  was  directed  at  me  I  am  at  least  utterly 
unconscious  of  having  received  any. 

Before  the  statement  was  delivered,  Keitt 
had  a  mutual  friend  explain  to  Grow  the  pur 
port  of  the  last  sentence.  Grow  was  informed 
that  the  disclaimer  of  any  knowledge  of  receiv 
ing  a  blow  was  simply  intended  to  satisfy  the 
code  which  required  a  challenge  from  a  man 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     177 

if  he  acknowledged  receiving  a  blow.  Grow, 
regretting  the  affair  and  wishing  the  incident 
closed,  accepted  the  explanation.  He  often 
said  laughingly  afterwards,  however,  "I  won 
der  what  it  was  that  made  Keitt  drop ! " 

As  soon  as  Keitt  had  made  his  apology, 
Grow  took  the  floor  and  closed  the  incident:  — 

...  At  the  last  sitting  of  the  House  I  found  my 
self  unexpectedly  engaged  in  personal  conflict.  To 
the  House  I  tender,  most  cheerfully,  whatever 
apology  is  due  for  this  violation  of  order  and  de 
corum. 

Northern  papers  praised  Grow  for  his  plucky 
stand,  while  Southern  journals  made  excuses 
for  Keitt.  The  Kansas  Free-State  settlers,  in 
their  enthusiasm  at  Grow's  championing  the 
right  to  free  speech,  presented  him  with  a  solid 
gold  medal  bearing  on  one  side  the  figure  of 
an  uplifted  arm  with  clenched  fist,  bearing  the 
caption,  — 

"  The  First  Blow  for  Freedom" 

The  European  press  discussed  the  incident 
at  length  and  in  various  ways,  and  "Punch," 
of  London  (March  6),  published  the  following 
verse  popularly  attributed  to  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes,  at  that  time  in  England:  — 


178  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

A  Fragment  from  the  Great  American  Epic 
The  Washingtoniad 

Sing,  oh,  Goddess,  the  wrath,  the  untamable  dander  of 

Keitt, 
Keitt,  of  South  Carolina,  the  clear  grit,  the  tall,  the 

undaunted, 
Him  that  hath  whopped  his  own  niggers  till  Northerners 

all  unto  Keitt 

Seem  but  as  niggers  —  as  well  as  small  bits  of  potatoes. 
Late  and  long  was  the  fight  on  the  constitution  of 

Kansas. 
Daylight  passed  into  dusk,  and  dusk  into  lighted  gas 

lamps  — 
Still  on  the  floor  of  the  House  the  heroes  continued  their 

fighting,  — 
Dry  grew  palates  and  tongues  with  excitement  and 

expectoration; 
Plugs  were  becoming  exhausted  —  and  Representatives 

also. 

Who  led  on  the  war?  The  Lecompton  phalanx? 
Grow,  hitting  straight  from  the  shoulder,  the  Pennsyl 
vania  slasher; 
Him  followed  Hickman   and  Potter,   the  Wiry  from 

Woody  Wisconsin; 
Washburn  stood  with  his  brother,  Cadwallader  with 

Elihu; 
Broad  Illinois  sent  the  one  and  Woody  Wisconsin  the 

other. 
Mott  came,  mild  as  new  milk,  with  gray  hair  under  his 

broad  brim, 

Leaving  a  first-class  location  and  water  privilege  near  it 
Held  by  his  fathers  of  old  on  the  willow-fringed  banks 

of  Ohio. 
Wrathy  Covode  too  I  saw,  and  Montgomery  ready  for 

mischief  — 


KANSAS  — KEITT  vs.  GROW      179 

Who  against  these  to  the  floor  led  the  Lecomptonite 
legions? 

Keitt  and  Rube  Davis,  the  "raal  hoss"  of  wild  Missis 
sippi; 

Craig  and  "Scorny"  McQueen,  and  Lucius  Quintus 
Lamar  — 

These  Mississippi  sent  to  the  war,  "Tri-partite  in 
uno." 

Long  waged  the  warfare  of  words.  It  was  four  in  the 
morning. 

Whittling  and  expectoration  and  humor  all  were  ex 
hausted 

When  Keitt  tired  of  talk;  bespoke  Rube  Davis;  "Oh, 
Reuben, 

Grow 's  a  tarnation  blackguard  and  I  'm  going  to  chuck 
him!" 

Thus  said,  up  to  him  sprang  and  loosened  his  choker; 

Squares  to  go  in  like  a  b'ar  when  the  varmint  is  cornered. 

"Come  out,  Grow,"  he  cried,  "you  black  Republican 
puppy; 

Come  out  on  the  floor  like  a  man  and  darn  my  eyes  but 
I '11  show  you!" 

Him  answered  straight-hitting  Grow,  "Wai,  now,  I 
kalkillate,  Keitt, 

No  nigger-driver  shall  leave  his  plantation  in  South 
Carolina 

Here  to  crack  his  cowhide  round  this  child's  ear  if  he 
knows  it!" 

Scarce  had  he  spoke  when  the  hand,  the  chivalrous  fore 
fingers  of  Keitt 

Clutched  at  his  throat !  Had  they  closed,  the  speech  of 
Grow  had  been  ended : 

Nevermore  from  a  stump  had  he  stirred  the  free  and 
enlightened; 

But  though  smart  Keitt's  moulies,  the  moulies  of  Grow 
were  still  smarter. 


180  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Straight  from  the  shoulder  he  shot.   Not  even  Swift  or 

Ned  Adams 
Ever  put  in  their  right  with  more  delicate  feeling  of 

distance. 
As  drops  the  hammer  on  anvil,  so  dropped  Grow's  right 

on  Keitt 
Just  where  the  jugular  runs  toward  the  base  of  the  right 

ear! 
Prone  like  a  log  sank  Keitt;  his  dollars  rattled  around 

him 
Forth  sprang  his  friends  o'er  the  body;  first  Barksdale 

the  wigwearer, 
Craig  and  McQueen  and  Davis  —  the  "raal  hoss"  of 

wild  Mississippi, 
Fiercely  they  gathered  round  Grow,  catawpously,  as  if 

to  chaw  him! 
But  without  Potter  they  reckoned,  —  the  Wiry  from 

Woody  Wisconsin,  — 
As,  striking  out  right  and  left  like  catamount,  varmint 

and  vicious, 
He  dashed  to  the  rescue,  and  with  him  the  Washburns, 

Cadwallader  and  Elihu. 
Slick  into  Barksdale's  bread-basket  walked  Potter's  five 

knuckles. 
Barksdale  fetched  round  in  a  trice,  dropped  Grow  and 

let  out  Elihu, 
Then  like  a  fountain  did  flow  the  claret  of  Washburne 

the  Elder; 
But  for  Cadwallader's  care,  —  Cadwallader,  guard  of 

his  brother,  — 
Catching  at  Barksdale's  knob  into  Chancery  soon  would 

have  drawn  it. 
Well  it  was  then  for  Barksdale  the  wig  that  waved  o'er 

his  forehead 

Off  into  Cadwallader's  hands  came;  and  the  wearer  re 
leasing 


KANSAS  —  KEITT  vs.  GROW     181 

Lett  to  the  conqueror  naught  but  the  scalp  of  his  worthy 

opponent ! 
Meanwhile,  hither  and  thither,  a  balm  on  the  waters  of 

trouble, 
Moved  Mott,  mild  as  new  milk,  with  gray  hairs  under 

his  broad  brim 
Preaching  peace  to  deaf  ears  and  getting  considerably 

damaged. 
Cautious  Covode  in  the  rear,  as  dubious  what  it  might 

come  to, 
Brandished  a  stone-ware  spittoon  "'Gainst  whoever 

might  seem  to  deserve  it." 

Little  mattered  to  him  whether  pro-  or  anti-Lecompton 
So  he  found  in  the  Hall  a  foeman  worthy  his  "weepon." 
So  raged  this  battle  of  men  all  into  the  thick  of  the  melee, 
When,  like  the  heralds  of  old,  stepped  the  Sergeant-at- 

Arms  and  the  Speaker. 
Then  order  was  found  and  the  warriors  ceased  fighting. 

The  only  description  Mr.  Grow  himself  ever 
wrote  of  the  episode  was  the  following,  found 
in  a  letter  to  a  relative  dated  February  9, 
1858:- 

I  wrote  you  this  morning  about  the  trouble  in 
the  House.  I  enclose  a  "  Globe,"  by  which  you  will 
see  that  the  fight  is  ended  and  the  books  are  closed. 
The  telegraphic  reports  first  sent  to  the  Associ 
ated  Press  were  substantially  a  correct  statement 
of  facts.  The  free  fight  that  ensued  after  the  first 
encounter  cannot  be  described.  It  was  the  first 
free  fight  that  ever  came  off  in  Congress  and  the 
alacrity  with  which  Republicans  rushed  to  the  en 
counter  took  Southern  men  entirely  by  surprise. 


182  GALTJSHA  A.  GROW 

They  have  labored  under  the  delusion  that  North 
ern  men  would  not  fight,  but  when  they  saw  them, 
almost  en  masse,  rush  from  one  side  of  the  Chamber 
to  the  other  and  join  the  affray  with  fists  clenched 
and  arms  flying,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
Northern  men  will  fight  in  a  just  cause  and  that 
with  some  effect. 

Until  the  admission  of  Kansas  as  a  free 
State  in  January,  1861,  five  years  after  the 
first  bill  passed  the  House,  Grow  earnestly 
championed  the  cause  of  the  "Garden  State 
of  the  West." 


CHAPTER  XI 

ORGANIZING   THE   FARMERS'   FRONTIER 

THE  realm  of  adventure  in  those  days  was 
the  great  empire  outside  the  organized  States. 
Congress,  trustee  for  this  romantic  domain 
whither  went  the  energetic  and  aspiring,  was 
at  much  pains  to  determine  how  to  govern 
properly,  from  such  distance  and  without  suffi 
cient  machinery  for  the  direct  administration 
of  the  law  vast  areas  to  which  every  type  of 
worker1  was  on  his  way.  Civilization  went 
forward  in  single  file  and  not  too  peacefully. 
Partition  of  the  area  into  Territories  and 
States  must  be  effected;  local  government 
must  be  set  up  in  place  of  the  too  short  arm 
of  the  federal  law,  and  other  aids  secured. 

Grow  devoted  his  best  energies  to  this  con 
tinental  work  which  was  part  of  the  develop 
ment  of  the  third  act  of  the  Homestead  drama. 
It  correlated  directly  to  his  main  passion,  the 
building  of  the  whole  expansion  policy  upon 
the  democratic  farm  unit.  His  dynamic  force 
disciplined  of  some  of  its  crudity,  Grow  had 

1  Turner,  The  Frontier  in  American  History. 


184  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

evolved  into  an  admirable  helmsman  for  "the 
purpose  which  seems  half  unconsciously  to 
have  dominated  the  people  and  their  rulers"1 
— a  purpose  which  pushed  the  frontiers  on  into 
the  wilds  in  "one  masterful,  irresistible  expan 


sion.'1 


The  heroic  pioneer  strain  in  humanity  ap-' 
pealed  to  him  more  and  more  strongly,  and  the 
farmers'  frontier,  ever  advancing  fluidly,  wave 
upon  wave,  drew  upon  it.  Who,  among  Ameri 
cans  with  native  ancestors,  does  not  know  by 
family  tradition  what  frontier  life  demanded  of 
endurance  and  red  courage?  The  tale  of  the 
grandfather  who  crossed  the  dangerous  moun 
tain  pass  to  establish  a  home;  of  the  grand 
mother  who  barricaded  the  stanch  log  house 
and  defended  her  babies  from  the  Indians  in 
the  absence  of  her  husband  by  firing  from  one 
loophole  after  another  in  rapid  succession;  or 
of  the  great-uncle,  perhaps,  whose  amazingly 
quick,  competent  organization  protected  not 
only  his  own  but  community  property  from  the 
onrush  of  the  prairie  fire;  —  these  are  our  com 
mon  heritage.  They  were  Grow's  actual  knowl 
edge.  In  isolated  regions  outbreaks  of  anar 
chy,  bloodshed,  and  cruelty  were  not  infrequent, 

1  Colquohoun,  Greater  America. 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     185 

where  men  were  tempted  "to  ride  the  range 
in  glorious  indifference  to  law." 1 

Grow  set  himself  to  do  what  he  could  at  the 
difficult  task  of  finding  means  of  protection  for 
these  brave  spirits  in  the  unorganized  domain. 
Believing  the  establishment  of  overland  mail 
routes  to  be  one  cheap  and  good  means,  open 
ing  surer  and  quicker  communication,  he  made 
a  strong  fight  for  them.  Concentrated  settle 
ment,  however,  was  the  main  desideratum  to 
assure  defense,  the  centers  of  organized  govern 
ment  offering  a  natural  stronghold.  Minne 
sota,  Oregon,  Utah,  New  Mexico,  and  Wash 
ington,  and  the  States  of  California  and  Texas 
were  already  on  the  map.  The  rest  of  the 
exhaustless  West  was  just  being  measured  up 
and  platted,  and  Grow,  the  surveyor,  good  at 
"metes  and  bounds,"  entered  a  familiar  field. 
Besides  three  additional  Territories  blocked 
out  he  personally  reported  bills  for  four  more: 
Chippewa,  which  was  to  have  been  cut  out 
along  the  northern  route  where  the  Blackfeet, 
Sioux,  and  other  Indians  menaced  the  mouth 
of  the  Yellowstone;  Dakota,  Idaho  (this  name 
to  replace  its  nickname  "Pike's  Peak  "  and  sig 
nifying  "  Gem  of  the  Mountain  ") ,  and  Arizona. 

1  Emerson  Hough,  Esau  in  Search  of  a  Home. 


186  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

These  he  regarded  as  infant  States;  they  were 
to  be  equipped  with  constitutions  and  provided 
with  laws. 

The  opposition  to  the  further  formation  of 
Territories  was  very  strong.  Reactionaries 
held  that  dependencies,  Territories,  had  no 
business  under  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  One  of 
the  gentlemen  who  frequently  led  in  obstruct 
ing  Grow  at  this  time  was  the  chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Public  Lands,  Thayer.  He 
believed  only  in  the  formation  of  sovereign 
States;  whenever  territorial  measures  were  up 
there  was  tit-for-tat  between  him  and  Grow. 
On  one  occasion  the  Dakota  organization  bill 
was  under  discussion.  Thayer 's  private  busi 
ness  was  in  railroad  equipment.  Unexpectedly, 
he  moved  to  lay  the  measure  on  the  table. 

"Not  so  fast!"  protested  Mr.  Grow.  "The 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  is  so  used  to 
carry  his  engines  into  these  new  countries  that 
he  is  all  for  locomotion!" 

Later  Grow  put  through  the  bill  which  cre 
ated  the  Territory  of  Nevada.  By  1859  Oregon 
was  admitted  as  a  State  and  the  eastern  part 
attached  to  Washington  as  a  Territory;  the 
State  of  Minnesota  was  formed,  and  Nebraska, 
Kansas,  and  Indian  Territories  recognized. 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER      187 

Before  he  left  Congress  all  but  four  of  our 
present  States  were  cut  out  by  boundaries. 

But  it  was  not  only  lack  of  organization 
which  was  crippling  the  West.  Grow  watched 
speculation,  his  bete  noir,  go  forward  more  and 
more  successfully.  The  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office  reported  that  a  very  con 
siderable  portion  if  not  the  greater  part  of  the 
entries  for  cultivation  and  settlement  under 
the  Graduation  Act  of  1854  had  been  made  by 
unscrupulous  individuals  in  direct  contraven 
tion  of  the  law.  The  Secretary  of  the  Interior 
prophesied  that  the  act  would  become  a  fruit 
ful  source  of  annoyance  and  loss.  Cobb's  sub 
stitute  for  the  Homestead  proposal  was  thus  a 
complete  failure. 

Not  only  did  speculative  capitalists  buy 
outright,  but  they  pushed  forward  "colorable" 
settlers  into  the  lands  which  had  not  been 
offered  for  public  sale  and  later  bought  them 
out.  Either  by  the  misrepresentations  of  spec 
ulators  or  the  inadvertence  of  authorities  pub 
lic  sales  had  been  ordered  before  the  line  of 
settlement  had  fairly  reached  the  land,  and 
thus  the  speculators  had  been  able  to  keep  in 
advance,  picking  out  choice  lands  in  quantities 
to  retail  at  a  largely  advanced  price  or  to  hold 


188  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

back  from  improvement  for  years.  This  was 
the  result  of  our  mistaken  policy  of  allowing 
land  to  be  sold  at  auction  to  the  highest  bidder. 
The  speculators  preyed  upon  squatters  who 
were  forced  to  leave.  With  ready  cash  they 
bought  the  cream  of  the  areas  offered  —  until 
preemptors  began  to  rebel. 

The  organization  of  this  rebellion  was  pic 
turesque  enough.  In  various  parts  of  the  West, 
wherever  enough  settlers  had  congregated, 
they  spiritedly  formed  township  associations 
which  were  offensive  and  defensive  leagues. 
They  proceeded  to  make  their  own  rules  for 
the  auctions.  First  they  registered  all  the  occu 
pied  tracts  in  the  name  of  the  men  entitled  to 
them  with  their  association  secretary,  listing 
doubtful  or  fraudulent  holders  as  such.  Then 
the  whole  membership  of  the  association  turned 
out  at  the  sales,  fully  armed.  The  crowd 
bristled  with  pistols  and  bowie  knives.  The 
spokesmen  intimated  to  land-grabbers,  on  pain 
of  physical  damage,  that  honest  applicants 
were  to  be  served  first  when  they  bid  upon 
land.  Under  the  circumstances,  second  choice 
being  preferable  to  loss  of  life,  the  hint  was 
usually  effective. 

After  the  settlers  were  through,  the  land- 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     189 

pirates  took  their  turn,  however.  The  old 
saying,  "This  will  be  a  great  country  when  we 
get  it  all  fenced  in!"  was  their  slogan.  They 
frequently  gobbled  up  all  the  "next  best" 
country,  and  dealt  largely  in  land  warrants 
and  scrip.  Large  districts  in  Iowa,  for  instance, 
swept  in  by  capitalists,  remained  like  a  desert 
waste,  in  sharp  comparison  to  areas  just  across 
the  line  in  Minnesota  where  the  land  was  not 
brought  upon  the  market,  but  where  the  home 
stead  principle  was  in  effect  applied.  There 
every  section  had  its  good  citizens  upon  it  cul 
tivating.  The  Middle  West  suffered  greatly. 

The  longer  any  new  plan  could  be  postponed 
the  better  for  the  land-grabbers.  In  opposition 
to  homestead,  they  favored  reduction  of  the 
requirements  of  occupancy  and  procurement 
of  permission  to  take  up  a  thousand  acres  at 
minimum  cost.  The  more  commonage  donated 
to  old  soldiers  the  better,  for  that  came  on  the 
market  cheap.  The  sentimental  "old-soldier" 
plea  was  a  wonderful  fence  behind  which  to 
do  almost  anything.  Paying  soldiers'  pensions 
"in  kind "  was  a  favorite  dissipation  of  govern 
ment  resources  and  meant  invariably  a  good 
big  job  lot  of  choice  bits  on  the  "land  bargain 
counter." 


190  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Mr.  Grow  once  freed  his  mind  vigorously  in 
regard  to  the  act  passed  in  1855.  He  said  on 
the  floor  of  the  House,  ungracious  as  was  the 
task  of  refusing  a  request  made  in  the  name  of 
those  who  had  given  valiant  service,  that  while 
professing  to  benefit  old  soldiers,  it  was  in  fact 
only  speculators  who  would  feel  the  results  of 
such  legislation.  Mexican  land-warrants  sold 
for  sixty  to  seventy-five  dollars  apiece.  Throw 
ing  upon  the  market  a  large  territory  to  be 
scrambled  for  visited  consequent  evils  upon 
the  new  States. 

The  state  of  the  public  mind  as  to  the  situ 
ation  of  preemptors  was  very  clear.  The  land 
was  common  property  belonging  to  all  the 
people,1  but  it  was  generally  held  that  each 
individual  citizen  was  a  joint  owner  in  it.  The 
popular  belief  concerning  land  and  labor  was 
that  a  citizen  going  to  the  commonage  was 
conferring  benefit  upon  the  Government.  He 
was  an  asset  to  the  Government  merely  in  his 
presence  upon  the  lands.  Working  the  lands, 
he  was  bestowing  upon  the  soil  labor  which 
was  his  own.  This  the  Government  had  no 
right  to  sell.  They  protested  the  right  of  the 
Government  to  dispose  of  their  improvements. 

1  Henry  George,  Land  and  Land  Policy. 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     191 

They  demanded  some  settlement  of  the  matter 
which  would  afford  substantial  recognition  of 
the  value  of  their  labor  and  provide,  if  price 
were  to  attach,  kindly  conditions  of  payment 
which  allowed  for  the  innumerable  difficulties 
of  acquiring  money.  The  host  of  preemptors 
were  quite  generally  men  of  low  means. 

An  extraordinary  condition  came  to  pass, 
therefore.  Millions  of  acres  were  not  brought 
into  market  at  all,  even  though  surveyed,  not 
because  the  Government  was  under  any  im 
pression  that  the  land  would  hereafter  sell  at  a 
better  price,  but  because  each  year  must  lessen 
(under  the  Graduation  and  Reduction  Act) 
the  number  of  acres  which  could  be  subjected 
to  disposal  at  the  highest  remunerative  price! 
The  moment  the  President  ordered  lands  placed 
upon  the  market  moneyless  preemptors  howled 
loudly,  for  that  meant  that  they  were  more 
than  likely  to  lose  their  homes  on  the  date  of 
the  auction. 

The  outcry  that  honest  settlers  were  being 
sacrificed,  sold  out  and  turned  out  by  the 
Government  in  favor  of  capitalists  or  for  the 
benefit  of  the  greatest  speculator  of  all,  the 
Government  itself,  was  megaphoned  through 
the  country,  creating  an  agitation  so  over- 


192  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

whelming  that  great  bodies  of  public  land  had 
stood  waiting,  and  from  1856  on  the  money 
which  should  have  come  into  the  Treasury 
from  sales  had  not  been  available.  Against 
such  strong  public  sentiment  any  executive 
would  have  been  courageous  to  act;  Buchanan 
was  of  no  mind  to  do  so. 

Against  the  President's  policy  of  inaction 
Grow  threw  himself  repeatedly.  He  fought 
in  varied  ways,  but  it  was  always  for  a  free 
folkland.  He  had  persistently  iterated  two 
safeguards  for  the  domain  aside  from  the 
homestead;  its  reservation  for  actual  settlers 
(proposed  as  early  as  1836  by  R.  J.  Walker)  and 
the  prevention  of  the  sale  of  public  lands  until 
they  should  have  been  in  the  market  fifteen 
years,  which  would  give  settlers  a  favorable 
start  over  land-grabbers.  Both  were  becoming 
more  patently  necessary  every  day.  He  tried 
the  first  in  a  separate  bill,  which  failed.  His 
persistence  was  continually  tested.  If  he  won 
on  minor  points,  —  as  for  instance  the  exten 
sion  of  the  land  laws  east  of  the  Cascade  Moun 
tains  in  Washington  and  Oregon, — he  was  con 
tinually  balked  of  the  essential  thing  he  wanted 
—  "ploughs,  babies,  homes,  and  freedom."1 
1  Emerson  Hough,  Esau  in  Search  of  a  Home. 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     193 

He  again  introduced  the  Homestead  Bill  in 
1856,  being  so  confident  of  its  soundness  that 
no  defeat  dismayed  him.  An  effort  to  side 
track  it,  after  he  had  reported  it  out  of  the 
Territorial  Committee,  by  sending  it  to  his 
other  committee,  Agriculture,  did  not  succeed. 
But  when  the  measure  came  up  for  discussion 
in  the  House,  hot  attacks  typical  of  period  and 
opponents  recurred.  Denounced  as  the  crown 
of  demagogism,  the  first  step  to  communism 
and  socialism,  as  being  profuse,  indiscriminate, 
and  likely  to  stir  other  classes  to  demand  com 
pensating  advantages,  it  had  to  combat  what 
was  in  reality  a  rampant  war  spirit.  Grow 
probably  could  have  put  through  a  limited 
bill,  but  he  was  not  satisfied  to  propose  one 
only  partially  competent;  therefore  conclusive 
action  was  practically  impossible. 

There  is  always  a  stage  when  a  long-fought 
measure,  frequently  introduced  and  never 
completely  successful,  has  as  little  appeal  as 
a  troublesome,  much-beaten,  but  "stick-to-it- 
ive"  puppy  who  hangs  about  expecting  further 
chastisement.  Obstinately  Grow  continued  to 
propose  his  plan  for  "morseling  out"  the  do 
main  in  the  following  sessions.  The  homestead 
proposition  could  not  be  forced  through  and  it 


194  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

seemed  to  be  a  forlorn  hope,  but  Grow  stuck 
by  it  gallantly  —  proof  that  his  passion  was 
both  ardent  and  persistent.  He  was  not  to  be 
discouraged  in  his  attempt  to  express  in  his 
own  way  the  strong  idealistic  impulse  of  the 
nation. 

His  fight  had  another  side,  defensive.  This 
period  was  one  of  deep  financial  depression; 
labor  felt  bad  conditions  painfully;  many  men 
were  out  of  work.  To  a  considerable  number  it 
seemed  that  the  land  should  be  doubly  a  sol 
vent  in  time  of  stress  and  give  bread  and  occu 
pation  to  all.  Many  expedients  were  up,  to 
amend  the  Graduation  and  Preemption  Acts, 
to  secure  various  types  of  grants,  to  provide 
subsidies  for  agriculture.  From  1856  on  Grow 
was  constantly  exerting  himself  to  defeat  the 
passage  of  legislation  which  would  tend  at  best 
merely  to  ameliorate  a  situation  which  called 
for  direct  and  fundamental  action. 

With  patience  and  power  and  judgment  he 
conservatively  and  wisely  bided  his  time. 
Doggedly  watching  for  a  good  opportunity  to 
concentrate  on  the  real  thing,  he  did  a  good 
grist  of  general  business  —  so  good  a  grist  that 
one  day  when  he  put  through  six  motions  it 
was  petulantly  cried  that  he  had  had  his  share! 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER    195 

The  House  was  somewhat  at  loggerheads; 
Crow's  party  was  young  and  jockeying  for 
advantage.  In  1858,  while  he  proposed  the 
homestead  again,  it  was  obviously  futile  to 
push  the  House  very  far  toward  the  accom 
plishment  of  his  main  project;  but  he  was 
there  with  it,  persistently  proposing. 

Andrew  Johnson,  elected  to  the  Senate  after 
a  term  as  Governor  of  Tennessee,  brought  an 
unlessened  enthusiasm  for  his  own  sort  of  land 
policy.  He  realized  quite  as  well  as  Grow  that 
the  homestead  conception  was  no  psychological 
illusion,  but  a  real  pregnancy  of  the  nation; 
upon  this  pre-birth  period  depended  the  char 
acter  of  the  legislative  offspring  of  which  the 
country  must  be  delivered. 

There  was  the  widest  difference  between 
Grow's  and  Johnson's  perceptions,  however. 
As  Johnson's  ideas  stood  there  was  never  a 
chance  for  the  vision  which  Grow  saw,  of  pro 
viding  for  all  souls  a  great  homogeneous  land 
system  which  would  carry  down  the  years, 
which  would  keep  the  Federal  Government 
supreme  arbiter  of  the  policies  of  the  whole 
people,  and  which  would  serve  to  spread 
throughout  the  country  to  its  remotest  corners 
the  healthy  yeast  of  a  democratic  spirit.  Grow 


196  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

felt  imperatively  that  the  narrow  interests  of 
the  States  were  of  secondary  importance;  that 
to  plan  land  disposition  to  keep  these  States 
distinct  and  decentralized  would  be  to  give 
strength  to  the  fast  augmenting  discontent 
among  them;  and  finally,  that  to  leave  to  the 
discretion  of  each  and  any  Commonwealth 
the  determination  of  the  fate  of  that  part  of 
the  domain  which  should  fall  outside  the  classi 
fication  of  land  subject  to  private  entry  would 
be  a  fatal  mistake. 

Johnson  was  both  earnest  and  ardent;  but 
he  was  a  presidential  aspirant.  Furthermore 
his  conception  had  never  expanded  beyond  its 
early  outlines;  in  brief,  to  donate  free  of  cost 
only  areas  subject  to  private  entry  among 
heads  of  families,  providing  they  were  natural 
ized  citizens  at  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the 
bill.  With  his  adherence  to  the  politics  of  the 
ruling  party  in  his  favor,  he  again  introduced 
his  Homestead  Bill;  but,  recognizing  that  the 
South  had  no  intention  of  allowing  any  meas 
ure  to  go  through  which  cut  off  revenues,  he 
narrowed  his  plan  still  further  and  robbed  it 
of  its  donation  character  altogether,  adding  a 
price  of  forty  dollars  an  acre.  At  a  much  later 
date  he  himself  affirmed  that  he  had  always 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     197 

looked  forward  to  the  day  when  the  bulk  of 
the  public  domain  should  be  surrendered  to 
the  States.  The  preemption  and  graduation 
measures  were  fixed  upon  the  country;  the 
Homestead  Bill  was  to  consummate  them;  he 
stated  that  he  viewed  this  whole  scheme  as 
mere  preliminaries  to  this  surrender. 

At  this  time,  however  (1858),  he  did  not  dis 
cuss  federal  rights  or  the  final  disposition  of 
the  domain ;  he  urged  only  that  Congress  should 
gratify  in  a  harmless  way  the  popular  demand 
for  homesteads.  It  was  certainly  high  time  for 
action.  State  legislatures  and  even  Congress 
itself  had  been  debauched  by  the  prevailing 
system  of  grants;  the  public  lands  were  prin 
cipally  prizes  for  plunder.  But  the  South  was 
no  nearer  listening  to  reason  on  the  matter, 
and  in  the  extremely  good  debate  which  oc 
curred  on  the  bill,  the  stand-pat  Democrats  de 
veloped  a  new  line  of  attack  to  defeat  action. 

"It  is  no  time  to  be  dispensing  revenues/' 
said  their  Senators.  "  The  North  wants  to  give 
away  the  public  lands  so  that  federal  revenue 
will  be  reduced  and  the  tariff  must  be  raised 
to  meet  the  expenses  of  government."  The 
inference  was  that  the  North  being  the  manu 
facturing  section,  protected  industries  would 


198  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

benefit.  Among  Democrats  this  was  discussed 
as  "a  little  game,"  and  they  were  ready  zeal 
ously  to  protect  the  South  against  such  imposi 
tion.  An  ingenious  argument,  Northern  lead 
ers  showed  that  it  was  not  water-tight;  if 
Eastern  Senators  had  favored  the  bill  for  such 
a  secondary  reason,  it  would  have  been  pri 
marily  too  dangerous  a  way  to  effect  an  end. 
The  South  had  power  to  retaliate  by  placing 
a  tax  on  articles  on  the  free  list. 

Aristocratic  Democrats  continually  attacked 
homesteaders  with  the  gloriously  long-lived 
song  of  agrarianism,  who  defended  agrarians 
as  patriots,  bold,  unflinching  advocates  of 
human  rights.  "The  principle  involved  in  this 
bill,"  said  the  Republican  Hale,  "is  one  that 
has  divided  free  democratic  principles  and  aris 
tocratic  government  for  all  past  time.  History 
has  not  been  written  by  democrats.  .  .  .  Those 
agrarians  who  for  thousands  of  years  have 
been  denounced  as  foes  of  property  and  of 
popular  right  and  social  order  were  in  fact  the 
only  true  friends  of  conservative  popular  lib 
erty  that  the  Republic  of  Rome  ever  saw,  and 
all  on  earth  they  contended  for  was  a  fair  and 
equal  distribution  of  the  public  lands." 

"Postponement,"  some  one  remarked,  "is 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER      199 

the  easiest  way  to  kill  Senators'  pet  bantlings." 
The  South  determined  upon  this,  and  there 
fore  encouraged  much  waste  motion.  Johnson 
chafed:  his  confreres  were  by  no  means  over- 
polite  to  him.  He  had  claimed  the  credit  for 
having  been  earliest  identified  with  the  home 
stead.  Clay,  of  Alabama,  deliberately  tried  to 
place  him  in  a  discreditable  light  by  asserting 
that  to  General  McConnell  of  his  own  State 
was  due  the  "honor"  of  having  proposed  to 
give  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  to  every  head 
of  a  family  in  the  United  States,  "man,  ma 
tron,  or  maid."  Johnson's  refutation  of  his 
statements  took  time,  therefore  filling  with  sat 
isfaction  the  majority  who  intended  to  defer 
action.  Adjournment  overtook  them  without 
a  decision. 

It  was  the  following  Congresses  which  saw 
the  most  dramatic  moments  of  the  homestead 
action,  in  which  were  involved  the  most  vital 
controversies  of  that  fateful  period.  Grow  was 
third  in  the  Speakership  contest  in  1859, 
acknowledged  one  of  the  strong  men  of  the 
House,  yet  the  times  were  so  precarious  that 
strategy  was  necessary  for  nearly  any  plan  in 
hand.  Public  demonstrations  were  being  held 
to  urge  definite  legislation.  Grow  summoned 


200  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

all  his  forces  and  launched  the  Homestead  Bill 
in  the  House,  combined  with  his  two  safeguards 
to  put  an  end  finally  to  speculation. 

He  had  a  short  but  strenuous  fight.  He 
found  feeling  sufficiently  averse  to  the  section 
he  had  added  providing  that  the  land  should 
not  be  sold  for  fifteen  years  after  survey  to 
cause  him,  intent  on  getting  results,  to  with 
draw  it  rather  than  expose  the  whole  measure 
to  defeat.  Despite  doughty  opposition  to  the 
alien  proclivities  of  the  bill  and  keen  States' 
rights  agitation,  Grow's  tactical  skill  and  man 
agement  sent  the  approved  bill  to  the  Senate. 

Upon  Johnson,  Grow's  bill  acted  like  a  chal 
lenge,  and  although  he  did  not  obviously  pick 
up  the  glove,  at  this  point  commenced  a  tug  of 
war  between  the  two  men  which,  never  point 
edly  personal,  was  undisguised.  A  contest  im 
pended.  Which  was  to  have  first  chance  to 
dictate  the  terms  to  be  discussed? 

Johnson  reported  the  House  measure  out 
of  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands  without 
amendment.  There  was  no  general  welcome. 
The  Cuban  Bill  was  already  in,  and  this  bore 
an  immensely  important  relation  to  the  Home 
stead  Bill.  Two  other  homestead  bills  were 
already  up,  Johnson's,  revived  after  its  dis- 


THE  FARMERS'  FRONTIER     201 

couraging  experience  the  year  before,  and  one 
reposing  on  a  side  track  in  committee.  Wade 
moved  to  take  up  the  House  measure  the  17th 
of  February.  Johnson's  own  bill  was  on  the 
calendar,  and  he  promptly  stated  that  he  felt 
"its  details  were  better  matured,"  but  he  gave 
way  to  consideration  of  the  House  proposal 
because  the  "idea  was  more  or  less  similar." 
In  reality  a  bill  coming  up  from  the  House 
was  usually  given  precedence  in  consideration; 
Wade's  motion  passed  by  two  votes.  Johnson 
was  of  no  mind  to  help  him,  and  Democrats, 
bent  on  swift  defeat,  began  to  mass  against 
the  bill.  After  several  dilatory  motions  for 
which  the  South  voted  almost  as  a  man,  Sen 
ator  Hunter  (our  old  Virginia  friend,  author  of 
Hunter's  substitute  in  1854)  proposed  that  the 
Wade  motion  be  set  aside.  The  vote  was  28 
to  28,  whereupon  Vice-President  Breckinridge, 
leaving  the  chair,  voted  in  the  affirmative. 
The  Homestead  Bill  was  for  that  day  and  ses 
sion  done  for,  although  attempts  were  made  to 
resuscitate  it. 

The  Cuban  Bill,  for  reasons  both  objective 
and  subjective,  obstructed  the  path  of  the 
homestead  measure.  It  countered  in  practical 
purpose  and  it  expressed  one  side  of  the  ethical 


202  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

problem.  Senator  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  suc 
ceeded  in  getting  prior  orders  postponed  on  the 
25th  of  February  in  order  that  the  project  to 
purchase  Cuba  for  $30,000,000  might  be  taken 
up.  At  ten  o'clock  that  night  Senator  Doolittle, 
of  Wisconsin,  moved  to  set  aside  the  Cuban 
measure  and  consider  the  Grow  bill.  In  the 
skirmish  the  keynote  difficulty  was  struck 
again.  Mr.  Grow  writes :  — 

I  remember  well  Wade's  encounter  with  Robert 
Toombs  while  this  point  was  being  discussed.  The 
fiery  Georgian  was  supporting  it  in  a  long-winded 
speech.  He  denounced  the  Republican  Senators 
as  demagogues  who  stood  in  awe  and  fear  of  the 
"  lacklanders  "  of  the  North.  This  was  more  than 
fighting  Ben  Wade  could  endure.  He  sat  near 
Toombs  and  springing  to  his  feet  he  faced  the 
Georgian  and  roared  full  in  his  face, — 

"Are  we  afraid,  sir?  Do  you  mean  to  say,  sir, 
that  we  are  afraid?  There  is  no  man  or  thing  on 
God's  footstool  that  I  am  afraid  of." 

Toombs  paled  and  said  quietly,  "  I  except  the 
Senator  from  my  remarks." 

"If  you  want  to  take  it  back  you  can,"  cried 
Wade;  and  then  proceeded  with  a  strong  speech 
using  these  words,  "  We  gladly  accept  the  issue 
which  the  Senator  from  Georgia  presents  and  will 
go  to  the  people  on  it:  Land  for  the  Landless  and 
Niggers  for  the  Niggerless!" 

The  motion  to  take  up  the  Homestead  Bill 


THE   FARMERS'   FRONTIER    203 

once  more  was  lost  by  ten  votes  and  the  Sen 
ate  went  on  to  consider  Buchanan's  pet  scheme. 
The  Ostend  Conference,  of  which  he  was  head, 
had  advised  forcible  seizure  of  the  island  if 
negotiations  failed.  Had  Cuba  been  acquired 
by  the  United  States  at  any  time  before  1860 
it  would  have  been  followed  by  the  repeal  of 
the  law  which  made  African  slave  trade  piracy. 
Said  Alexander  Stephens,  the  South  "could 
not  keep  up  the  race  with  the  North  in  the 
occupation  of  new  territory  unless  they  could 
get  more  Africans."  The  desire  for  the  addi 
tional  political  power  of  two  new  Senators 
from  slave  soil  made  the  fight  on  Cuba  bitter. 
At  this  short  session,  however,  the  Senate  was 
impotent  alike  on  Cuba  and  the  homestead. 
But  once  more  it  was  made  dramatically  clear 
how  inextricably  land  and  slavery  issues  were 
interwoven. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN  PASSES 

THE  pulse  of  the  nation,  quickened  by  the  re 
peal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  the  tariff, 
the  Kansas  fight,  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  now 
beat  tumultuously  at  the  mere  mention  of  land. 
Yet  in  land  policy  lay  the  last  chance  of  reach 
ing  a  solution  of  great  sectional  differences,  and 
all  ardent  land  men  were  incited  to  fresh  patri 
otic  endeavors.  The  full  blast  of  oratory  and 
dialectic,  covering  all  the  ground  ever  traversed 
in  previous  Congresses  and  much  that  was  new 
on  the  homestead,  came  during  that  restless, 
bitter,  hysterical  Congress  (1860)  when  the 
very  heart  of  the  nation  was  heavy  with  emo 
tion  and  the  body  politic  strained  to  the  break 
ing  of  endurance.  As  the  homestead  theme 
evolved,  the  background  became  more  effec 
tive  and  complex. 

At  Grow's  urging,  Owen  Lovejoy,  who  was 
now  chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on 
Public  Lands,  reported  out  the  Homestead  Bill 
early.  The  House  was  strongly  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  but  its  old  foes  still  tried  to  table  it 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN      205 

at  its  third  reading.  They  failed  and  it  passed 
without  debate,  the  same  simple  measure  em 
bracing  1,400,000,000  broad  acres,  purposing 
to  encourage  and  protect  settlement  and  as 
suming  unquestionable  authority  in  the  Na 
tional  Government  to  dispose  of  land  for  in 
ternal  improvement. 

Grow  knew  that  the  test  of  real  principles 
was  due,  for  the  Democrats  in  the  Senate  con 
tinued  to  crack  the  whip.  It  was  a  dilemma 
with  branched  horns  that  had  to  be  faced. 
Upon  the  upholding  of  States'  rights  rested 
questions  of  allowing  capitalists  to  become 
land  barons,  of  the  maintenance  of  a  traditional 
source  of  government  revenue,  and  of  expan 
sion  of  slavery  into  the  new  terrain.  Upon  the 
recognition  of  federal  powers  rested  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  highly  socialized  method  of  land 
partition  among  individuals;  of  the  creation  of 
a  far  greater  income  by  investment  in  popula 
tion;  and  greatest  of  all,  Freedom. 

Johnson  had  introduced  his  own  measure 
into  the  Senate,  and  debate  was  somewhat 
advanced  when  the  House  bill  arrived.  As 
a  member  of  the  Democratic  Committee  on 
Public  Lands  he  had  influence  on  Grow's 
proposal.  By  some  accident  or  intention  the 


206  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

condition  in  which  this  bill  was  reported  out 
was  obscure.  Wade  at  once  asked  that  the  cus 
tomary  courtesy  of  immediate  consideration  be 
shown  the  House  measure  and  gave  reasons  for 
preferring  it.  Johnson  protested,  this  time  at 
giving  precedence. 

Wade  did  not  know  it,  but  he  had  been  fore 
stalled  anyhow.  Johnson,  sure  that  he  had  the 
not  entirely  disfavoring  eyes  of  Southern  Dem 
ocrats  on  his  measure  at  last,  since  the  Senators 
from  the  old  States  had  received  specific  in 
structions  from  their  districts  to  sustain  re 
medial  legislation  of  some  sort,  wished  quite 
naturally  to  dictate  what  compromise,  if  any, 
should  be  made,  and  to  be  identified  with  the 
measure  which  passed.  He  was  sincerely  inter 
ested,  too,  in  harmonizing  sectional  opinions. 
He  held  that  the  Union  was  indissoluble,  - 
a  remarkable  opinion  for  a  man  of  the  South, 

-  but  he  was  also  convinced  that  the  Con 
stitution  secured  to  States  certain  rights  as 
well.  Asserting  that  the  powers  of  the  Federal 
Government  must  be  circumscribed,  he  natu 
rally  had  no  marked  sympathy  for  Grow's  bill. 
Therefore  his  committee  had  emasculated  it 
before  reporting;  had  struck  out  the  body  of 
the  House  proposition  and  substituted  their 


A   STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN       207 

own.  The  two  bills  were  now  identical,  so  that 
it  would  appear  that  there  remained  only  the 
question  of  order  which  should  first  be  consid 
ered. 

Wade,  when  he  discovered  what  had  been 
done,  lost  no  time  in  defeating  this  attempt  to 
annul  Grow's  measure.  He  called  the  Senate's 
attention  to  the  fact  that  it  now  became  a  ques 
tion  of  agreeing  to  the  amendment  and  that 
the  friends  of  the  Grow  bill,  which  meant  all 
Republicans,  should  vote  against  it.  After  a 
little  discussion  he  moved,  in  retaliation,  to 
strike  out  the  body  of  the  Senate  measure  and 
substitute  the  House  bill. 

At  this  point  rose  up  his  colleague  and  his 
pet  detestation,  George  E.  Pugh,  follower  of 
Andrew  Johnson,  to  pour  oil  on  troubled 
waters  —  his  habit,  most  objectionable  from 
Wade's  point  of  view,  but  in  this  instance  not 
unuseful.  Pugh  thought,  by  way  of  striking  a 
bargain,  that  it  would  be  better  to  consider 
the  Grow  bill  as  it  had  come  from  the  House, 
without  amendment,  and  so  leave  the  Senate 
measure  in  its  present  status.  Upon  this  con 
sideration  Wade  withdrew  his  motion. 

Always,  in  this  phase  of  the  homestead's 
career,  Wade  and  Pugh  faced  each  other  like 


208  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

opposing  lawyers  in  a  sensational  case.  Wade 
thought  Pugh  the  most  noted  "doughface"  in 
the  upper  House,  in  constant  collusion  with 
Southern  sympathizers.  "  Old  Ben  Wade  "  was 
himself  as  loyal  as  a  watchdog,  and  he  disliked 
indirection.  Once,  when  he  was  particularly 
tried  with  Pugh,  he  exclaimed  to  Grow, "  When 
listening  to  the  Senator  from  my  State  I  have 
wondered  why  the  God  Almighty  did  not  make 
some  persons  spaniels  instead  of  men!" 

Pugh's  judgment,  however  colored,  was  fre 
quently  astute,  and  his  settlement  in  this  case 
made  the  condition  of  both  bills  interesting. 
The  presiding  officer  stated  that  as  motions 
had  now  been  made  to  strike  out  the  body 
of  each  bill  and  amend  with  the  other,  both 
would  be  open  to  amendment  before  the  vote 
was  taken  on  substituting  one  for  the  other. 
Pugh  knew  that  this  was  Senate  practice,  al 
though  not  necessarily  good,  and  it  had  the 
advantage  of  keeping  the  matter  fluid  tempo 
rarily.  In  only  one  particular  did  Pugh  take 
exception  to  the  Johnson  plan;  he  said  that  in 
regard  to  admission  of  immigrants  it  was  not 
even  so  liberal  as  the  preemption  laws;  in  this 
alone  did  he  stand  with  Wade. 

Johnson  was  roused  by  Wade's  vigorous 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN       209 

leadership,  well  planned  to  make  him  a  deal 
of  trouble.  With  devotion  to  his  own  bill  he 
declared  feelingly  that  it  held  the  first  princi 
ples  of  government,  was  founded  on  states 
manship,  humanity,  and  even  Christianity 
itself.  From  his  point  of  view,  as  that  of  the 
best  States'  rights  men,  it  would  strengthen, 
not  weaken,  the  bonds  of  the  Union!  He  be 
lieved  that  a  limited  homestead  operation 
would  secure  a  better  voting  population  and 
that  the  assurance  of  land  to  the  hitherto  un- 
propertied  would  make  a  large  difference  in 
the  attitude  of  the  country  toward  slavery, 
because  "just  as  soon  as  men  become  inter 
ested  in  property  so  will  they  become  recon 
ciled  to  the  institutions  of  property."  He  de 
clared  that  all  that  was  really  material  was 
contained  in  the  measure  he  advanced,  and 
that  any  friend  of  the  homestead  principle, 
when  he  could  get  the  substance  of  that  propo 
sition,  was  not  acting  in  good  faith  if  he  gave 
to  the  bill  that  direction  which  would  defeat  it. 
He  championed  it  as  a  proposal  which  was  not 
sectional.  He  wanted  to  be  sustained  in  his 
proposal  to  strike  out  all  after  the  enacting 
clause  in  Grow's  bill  and  substitute  his  own. 
His  argument,  while  charmingly  delivered, 


210  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

was,  as  we  have  seen,  not  justified  so  far  as  the 
true  homestead  character  of  the  measure  and 
the  basic  intent  of  federal  improvement  was 
concerned.  However,  at  this  juncture  came  a 
warning.  Green,  of  Indiana,  who  was  known 
to  be  in  touch  with  the  President,  declared 
that  it  made  no  difference  which  bill  was  con 
sidered,  as  neither  would  become  a  law  until 
the  President  had  signed  it —  a  veto  hint  —  al 
though  he  disclaimed  authority — which  was 
disquieting  to  both  factions.  Green  himself 
was  reactionary,  a  preemptioner  who  wanted 
strengthening  of  these  laws  alone.  He  said 
that  the  Graduation  Law  intended  to  benefit 
the  new  States  had  proved  a  curse  to  all  States; 
and  he  fought  both  homestead  propositions, 
particularly  upon  the  ground  that  the  Govern 
ment  had  no  right  to  exempt  lands  from  taxa 
tion  after  donation. 

Furious  discussion  jerked  the  House  meas 
ure  all  over  the  field.  "Nationalism  is  a  dis 
ease  from  which  we  are  all  suffering!"  cried 
a  Southerner  in  exasperation.  "The  Govern 
ment  should  have  its  patronage  and  land 
offices  broken  up.  Land  should  be  under  the 
disposition  of  the  States  alone!"  Upon  this 
psychological  cue  a  substitute  for  both  bills 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN 

was  submitted  which  would  have  ceded  the 
lands  to  the  States,  reinforcing  a  resolution 
to  that  effect  already  in. 

Senator  Doolittle,  of  Wisconsin,  fatefully 
dumped  much  fat  on  the  fire.  He  blew  might 
ily  on  the  flaming  hatreds  which  were  consum 
ing  the  upper  House.  He  injected  red-hot 
abolition  coals  beneath  his  new  fuel.  He  turned 
the  attention  of  the  South  to  the  traditional 
"cullud  pusson"  who  inhabit  the  national 
woodpile.  He  suggested  that  homesteads  be 
given  to  negroes  in  the  South.  He  blithely  sub 
mitted  his  views  as  to  the  settlement  of  the 
whole  race  problem,  outlining  the  three  solu 
tions  offered  up  to  that  time.  The  first  was 
the  unconditional  emancipation  of  slaves  "by 
force,  it  may  be,  to  remain  on  a  footing  of  equal 
ity  with  the  white  race."  The  second,  which 
might  be  termed  "the  solution  of  Southern  fa 
naticism,"  looked  to  the  acquisition  of  Cuba, 
Mexico,  Central  America  —  in  fact,  to  all 
tropical  America  and  the  reopening  of  the 
slave  trade.  So,  he  said,  planned  slave  propa 
gandists  or  "Knights  of  the  Golden  Circle." 
The  third,  which  he  deemed  the  only  wise  and 
practical  one,  proposed  by  Jefferson,  concurred 
in  and  sustained  by  Washington,  Madison, 


GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Clay,  and  Jackson,  looked  to  the  time  when 
the  colonization  and  deportation  of  the  eman 
cipated  race  should  take  place. 

He  used  such  unfortunate  expressions  as 
that  he  was  "utterly  opposed  to  the  amalga 
mation  of  races,"  and  discussing  at  length  the 
Dred  Scott  decision,  declared  that  it  did  not 
establish  the  right  to  extend  slavery,  which  was 
a  Southern  claim.  Worst  of  all,  supposedly 
arguing  for  the  Homestead  Bill,  he  called  it  "a 
measure  of  empire,"  maintaining  that  without 
the  negro  question  it  must  be  easily  settled. 

"A  measure  of  empire!"  It  was  the  phrase 
of  the  session.  The  South  caught  it  up  as 
a  gauntlet  flung  down.  Antagonistic  spirits 
in  the  Democratic  ranks  seized  upon  Doolit- 
tle's  haphazard,  preposterous,  but  impressive 
speech  as  the  real  feeling  of  the  North.  It  was 
Mason,  firebrand  from  Virginia,  who  flared  at 
once,  replying  rapidly  that  the  Senator  from 
Wisconsin  had  shed  a  great  deal  of  light  on  the 
subject  when  he  showed  the  Homestead  Bill 
as  a  means  by  which  the  North  intended  to 
assure  itself  "command  and  control  of  the  des 
tinies  of  the  continent.  ...  It  is  part  of  this 
'measure  of  empire'  to  connect,  as  belonging 
indissolubly  to  it,  the  whole  slavery  question 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN       213 

with  the  homestead  policy."  He  boldly  inti 
mated  that  the  North  was  trying  to  sequester 
territory  so  that  the  South,  which  would  never 
learn  to  farm  upon  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  would  be  defrauded  of  its  share  of  the 
Western  land  of  promise.  He  apparently 
arraigned  Johnson  as  much  as  Grow,  calling 
the  Tennesseean's  attention  to  the  fact  that 
his  bill  was  being  used  by  the  North;  and, 
exploding  with  passion,  declared  that  in  this 
proposal  to  give  land  to  the  landless  and  pro 
viding  homes  for  men  "who  will  never  occupy 
them"  was  concealed  "a  political  engine  and  a 
potent  one"  for  a  battering  attack  upon  the 
very  existence  of  the  South. 

The  air  was  charged  with  electrical  antipa 
thies.  Despite  the  fact  that  he  did  not  approve 
at  all  of  rampant  attitudes  and  bitter  speeches, 
fearful  lest  they  should  react  to  defeat  his  pur 
pose,  Johnson  commented  tartly:  "Round 
and  round  this  slavery  agitation  have  we  gone 
until  our  heads  are  reeling  and  our  stomachs 
sick.  ...  If  some  Senator  from  the  South  were 
to  introduce  the  Lord's  Prayer  or  ...  the  Ten 
Commandments  for  consideration,  some  one 
would  find  a  negro  in  it  somewhere!" 

Continuing  sarcastically  that  he  was  grati- 


214  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

fied  to  hear  the  Senator  from  Virginia  confess 
that  for  once  at  least  since  he  had  been  in  the 
Senate  he  had  had  a  flood  of  light  shed  on 
his  mind,  Johnson  devoted  himself  to  showing 
that  Mason,  opposing  the  homestead  now,  had 
voted  without  prejudice  for  a  territorial  home 
stead  grant  for  Kansas  and  Nebraska  in  1854; 
and  furthermore  that  he  had  permitted  the  act 
to  pass  in  bad  English.  Whereupon  Mason, 
not  denying  the  impeachment,  interjected  a 
comment  that  he  would  admit  that  the  bad 
English  was  a  mistake!  In  a  continued  en 
deavor  to  undo  the  evil  effects  of  the  Doolittle- 
Mason  type  of  speech  Johnson  made  numerous 
controversial  statements.  He  quoted  the  Presi 
dent  in  favor  of  immigration  and  regretted 
that  the  measure  should  be  taking  a  party 
direction,  declaring  that  the  homestead  idea 
was  Democratic  and  could  not  be  claimed  by 
Republicans. 

The  facts  did  not  justify  this.  The  measure 
had  no  party  color  until  1853;  then,  as  is  shown 
by  Grow's  position  in  the  House,  it  was  dis 
tinctively  Free-Soil  Democratic  until  that  fac 
tion  split  from  the  organization  and  formed  the 
Republican  Party,  after  which  time  the  Demo 
crats  became  strongly  anti-homestead.  Now, 


A  STATES'   RIGHTS  PLAN      215 

at  least,  after  arduous  work  to  postpone  defini 
tion  of  a  land  policy  year  after  year,  the  dis 
concerting  success  of  Republicanism  caused 
Democrats  to  see  that  settlement  of  the  issue 
was  not  only  politic  but  imperative.  They 
must  to  the  rightabout! 

The  effect,  to  use  Viscount  Bryce's  descrip 
tion  of  a  later  parallel  situation,  was  similar 
to  having  the  Jews  enter  singing  "Onward! 
Christian  soldiers!"  But  the  land  question 
having  now  become  a  sectional  question,  the 
Democrats  were  greatly  puzzled.  The  wise 
among  them  knew  that  with  feeling  at  heat 
it  was  by  no  means  the  best  time  to  demand 
the  total  programme  they  wished  to  execute. 
They  would  have  preferred  partial,  temporiz 
ing  measures;  but  the  situation  pressed  them 
hard. 

Pugh  proposed  to  try  out  the  sentiment  of 
the  Senate  by  a  motion  to  strike  out  the  enact 
ing  clause  of  Grow's  bill.  This  failed;  the  con 
servative  Democrats  resolved  to  take  matters 
into  their  own  hands.  Robert  W.  Johnson,  of 
Arkansas,  astute  politician,  now  as  in  1854, 
mouthpiece  of  the  stand-patters  of  the  party, 
came  forward.  He  moved  that  both  measures 
be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Public  Lands, 


216  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

with  definite  directions  to  report  back  with 
recommendations  at  an  early  date. 

Wade  was  watching  closely:  every  inch  of 
congressional  rope  was  under  dispute  and  ev 
ery  advantage  must  be  conserved.  But  it  was 
soon  clear  that  the  proposal  was  made  in 
good  faith,  and  knowing  that  the  Democrats 
had  the  whip  hand  anyhow,  and  that  his  mi 
nority  position  was  only  strong  enough  to  ob 
struct  or  eventually  perhaps  to  effect  a  com 
promise,  he  deemed  it  wise  to  acquiesce  in 
the  arrangement. 

Promptly  the  committee  came  in  to  report. 
Both  Johnsons  were  on  it.  Andrew  Johnson 
took  occasion  to  say  that  the  bill  which  they 
were  bringing  in  "had  passed  through  an 
ordeal  to  which  in  all  his  experience  he  had 
never  seen  the  equal."  They  brought  back 
neither  the  Senate  nor  House  measure,  but  a 
compromise. 

Robert  Johnson,  very  proud,  stated  that  he 
believed  that  they  had  obtained  what  he  had 
not  thought  it  possible  to  attain,  a  point  in 
common  between  the  two  parties  while  Gover 
nor  Johnson  preserved  his  idea;  that  it  would 
be  satisfactory  not  only  to  the  old  States,  but 
to  the  population  and  those  in  charge  of  the 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN       217 

Government  itself,  since  (in  distinction  from 
Grow's  bill)  it  was  a  measure  productive  of 
order  and  symmetry  in  all  its  connection  with 
the  land  system. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  with  every  sincerity 
the  two  Johnsons  had  tried  to  settle  this  mat 
ter,  although  they  could  not  avoid  the  twists 
of  their  own  bias.  Andrew  Johnson  knew  that 
the  chances  of  passage  were  precarious  unless 
he  left  the  terms  of  compromise  largely  in  the 
hands  of  the  other  Johnson.  Robert  Johnson, 
with  his  convictions,  probably  could  not  see 
that  there  was  every  reason  of  expediency 
and  ultimate  principle  why  the  measure  they 
brought  in  could  not  be  acceptable  to  true 
homesteaders.  His  own  exposition  of  it  showed 
that  it  was  a  plausible  further  approach,  more 
grasping  than  the  Senate  bill,  to  what  the 
South  had  most  at  heart,  the  strengthening 
of  States'  rights  —  not  even  an  approximation 
of  what  the  House  wanted,  but  a  retrogression 
from  it.  The  main  intent  was  concealed  in  its 
final  section.  First  a  graduation  of  the  price  of 
lands  was  maintained,  homesteads  were  offered 
only  in  60,000,000  acres  already  surveyed ;  a 
totally  new  provision  never  before  incorporated 
in  any  bill  required  the  President  to  expose  all 


218  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

public  lands  at  auction  two  years  after  their 
survey  ;  finally,  it  was  provided  that  title  to  the 
entire  remaining  commonage  was  to  pass  after 
thirty  years  to  the  States. 

Fight  was  resumed  at  once.  Grow's  friends 
were  astonished  and  not  very  hopeful.  Amend 
ments,  however,  cut  the  air  like  razors  at  a 
traditional  darky  celebration.  Circumlocution 
prevailed  until  Republicans  could  best  see  how 
to  move.  One  of  the  serious  objections  on  the 
score  of  expediency  was  that  the  committee 
of  Democrats,  believing  that  preemptors  had 
already  been  indulged  and  desiring  to  show 
them  no  favor,  had  decided  squatters  should 
pay  full  price  for  the  lands,  although  they  were 
to  be  allowed  a  credit  of  two  years.  It  was  in 
adequate  provision.  Hosts  were  already  at  the 
West.  A  thousand  persons  every  day  crossed 
the  Missouri  to  select  home  spots  from  the  gap 
ing  lands  beyond. 

Douglas,  true  to  his  instinct,  proposed  to 
take  a  politicianly  middle  of  the  road.  He  was 
in  favor  of  some  price  attaching,  but  he  sub 
mitted  an  amendment  to  enlarge  the  compro 
mise  to  include  sale  of  all  lands  subject  to  pre 
emption,  so  that  the  agricultural  section  of  the 
whole  domain  would  be  thrown  open  as  needed 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN       219 

and  the  preemptor  might  buy  on  the  same 
terms  as  the  settler,  at  twenty-five  cents  an 
acre,  something  more  valuable  than  "practi 
cally  worthless  knobs  and  swamps,"  but  the 
speculator  would  still  have  to  pay  a  dollar  and 
a  quarter  an  acre. 

Johnson  of  Arkansas,  the  chief  exponent 
and  defender  of  his  own  compromise,  fought 
Douglas  vigorously,  displaying  the  limitations 
of  his  sympathy.  A  scattering  of  our  popula 
tion  over  an  immense  surface,  an  unnatural 
stimulus  to  immigration,  a  disarrangement  of 
the  progress  of  public  surveys,  —  these  and 
many  other  objections  he  urged.  "What,"  he 
demanded  also,  "is  the  responsibility  of  this 
Government  when,  by  this  same  policy,  down 
goes  the  value  of  railroad  grants  upon  which 
the  States  have  contracted  heavy  debts,  and 
what  assistance  will  the  public  lands  be  to  the 
Pacific  Railroad?" 

Jefferson  Davis  also  spoke  against  Douglas's 
plan  significantly  and  brilliantly,  defining  the 
two  great  principles,  as  he  saw  them,  running 
through  our  land  policy;  first  to  abridge  as 
much  as  possible  the  period  within  which  the 
Federal  Government  should  exercise  control 
over  land  within  the  States;  second,  to  hasten 


220  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  development  of  the  new  country.  We  were, 
in  his  view,  about  to  depart  from  the  principle 
upon  which  the  preemption  system  rested, 
reverting  to  the  idea  of  eventual  state  owner 
ship,  which  would  make  the  adoption  of 
Douglas's  amendment  a  fatal  mistake!  It  did 
not  pass. 

In  spite  of  the  body  of  Democrats  favoring 
the  committee  compromise,  Mason,  still  ran- 
cored,  expressed  the  opinion  of  the  extreme 
Southern  opposition  when  he  bewailed  the  fact 
that  the  Senate  compromise  was  only  better 
than  the  Grow  bill  because  it  preserved  "some 
wretched  form  of  constitutional  right  —  all 
that  seemed  to  be  left  of  the  Constitution,  as 
its  substance  was  gone." 

Wade  still  had  it  in  his  mind  to  call  up  the 
old  House  bill.  A  vote  was  approaching  on 
the  somewhat  amended  compromise  when 
he  moved  to  strike  out  all  after  the  enacting 
clause  and  substitute  Grow's  bill.  Andrew 
Johnson  appealed  to  him  to  withdraw  the  mo 
tion;  Senators  did  not  want  to  put  themselves 
on  record  as  altogether  against  the  House 
provisions,  and  although  personally  he  would 
have  liked  the  compromise  to  be  more  liberal, 
the  thing  to  do  was  to  get  a  vote.  Johnson  did 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN 

not  ask,  "What  is  ideal?"  but,  "What  are  we 
sure  to  get?  "  Wade  insisted,  anxious  for  a  test 
of  strength.  The  motion  failed;  but  all  the 
voting  about  this  time  was  exceedingly  close. 

An  attempt  to  strike  out  section  eleven, 
ceding  the  lands  to  States,  also  failed,  but  the 
South  did  not  feel  any  too  well  enforced  with 
votes.  There  was  an  unusual  to-do  about 
absentees.  The  House  has  a  "call"  for  occa 
sions  when  the  attendance  is  bad;  the  Senate 
was  obliged  to  move  that  the  Sergeant-at- 
Arms  "request"  the  presence  of  Senate  mem 
bers.  That  such  a  motion  passed  now  was 
evidence  of  sheer  nervous  tension  and  deep 
watchfulness. 

Wade  once  more  made  a  valiant  attempt  to 
get  what  he  called  a  "homestead"  bill,  but 
unavailingly.  Although  not  very  many  votes 
were  needed  to  carry  it  and  Wade  was  some 
what  inclined  to  fight  for  a  postponement  until 
the  next  session,  the  general  opinion  was  that 
the  Senate  bill  had  better  be  accepted  even  at 
its  worst  because  the  need  for  some  united 
action  between  the  North  and  South  was  so 
desperate.  Although  the  compromise  was  not 
satisfactory,  the  anxiety  concerning  peace  and 
incidentally  the  modicum  of  actual  relief  for 


222  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

settlers  caused  many  Senators  to  feel  that  it 
was  best  to  vote  in  favor  of  it. 

The  compromise  passed.  Jefferson  Davis 
made  clear  acknowledgment  that  the  measure 
had  become  almost  devoid  of  its  homestead 
idea.  He  suggested  that  the  title  be  changed  to 
"A  bill  amendatory  of  the  several  acts  for  the 
disposal  of  the  public  domain  and  to  perfect 
the  existing  system  thereof."  Andrew  John 
son,  however,  wished  to  retain  the  homestead 
caption,  and  out  of  deference  to  him  Davis's 
exact  description  was  not  applied. 

The  changeling  measure  went  to  the  House 
for  action  (May  21).  There  followed  an  out- 
and-out  quarrel  between  the  two  branches  of 
Congress.  Grow  did  not  wish  to  submit  to  this 
successful  maneuver  by  the  opposition,  and  the 
House  returned  the  bill  to  the  Senate  amended 
to  its  original  form.  It  was  kept  waiting  some 
little  time,  and  then  the  Senate  refused  to  con 
cur.  "You  shall  take  what  we  sent  you!"  said 
they.  The  House  still  refused,  and  on  May  30 
sent  a  message  to  the  Senate  that  they  insisted 
on  the  amendments,  but  asked  for  a  committee 
of  conference.  The  Senate  retorted  that  it  in 
sisted  on  its  disagreements,  but  appointed  the 
two  Johnsons  and  Harlan  as  conferees. 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN 

Grow,  Thomas,  and  Lovejoy  were  the  three 
appointed  by  the  House.  The  resulting  meet 
ings  were  not  marked  by  harmony!  Andrew 
Johnson  quite  well  understood  the  attitude 
of  the  Republicans  and  was  temperamentally 
suited  to  arbitration.  But  Johnson  of  Arkan 
sas,  the  framer  of  the  States'  rights  substitute, 
had  no  sympathy  whatever  with  Grow,  and 
to  him  the  demands  of  the  House  members  for 
their  own  sort  of  a  measure  seemed  entirely 
exacting  and  intolerant.  He  declared  with 
the  injustice  of  heat  that  they  must  have  the 
intent  of  coercing  the  President  to  veto  the 
measure  for  its  political  effect.  This  was  not 
true,  but  Grow  was  not  happy  —  Robert 
Johnson  was  always  getting  in  his  way! 

Possibly  personal  contact  made  the  tug  of 
war  between  the  two  ideas  at  stake  unbearable. 
Grow  reported  to  the  House,  at  any  rate,  that 
after  "full  and  free  "  conference  the  committee 
had  separated  without  coming  to  any  agree 
ment.  In  the  Senate  Andrew  Johnson  did  like 
wise,  stating  that  if  the  House  wanted  another 
conference  they  must  ask  for  it.  Thereupon  the 
House,  insisting  on  its  disagreement,  did  ask 
for  another  conference,  and  Grow  significantly 
suggested  the  appointment  of  new  conferees. 


224  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

The  second  delegation  still  could  not  reach 
an  agreement,  and  June  15  again  so  reported. 
With  the  exception  of  Andrew  Johnson  the 
personnel  of  the  conference  committee  was 
once  more  changed,  and  the  third  conference 
sat.  After  twelve  meetings  of  three  different 
excited  conferences,  Colfax  reported  to  the 
House  and  Johnson  to  the  Senate  on  June  19 
that  the  committee  had  finally  agreed. 

In  brief,  the  Senate  yielded  only  in  minor 
matters,  although  some  of  these  were  impor 
tant.  The  upper  House  maintained  its  position 
in  regard  to  the  ultimate  absorption  of  the 
domain  by  the  States  and  the  graduated  price 
of  lands.  The  main  concessions  which  the 
Senate  yielded  were  the  enlargement  of  the 
scope  of  the  area  to  include  all  odd-numbered 
sections  of  the  surveyed  domain  which  had 
not  been  open  to  public  sale.  Heads  of  families 
after  five  years'  occupancy  were  allowed  to 
purchase  quarter-sections  at  twenty-five  cents 
an  acre.  Instead  of  the  full  price  of  lands, 
preemptors  were  to  get  them  at  half  price — 
sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  —  after  free  ten 
ancy  for  six  months.  The  clause  which  made 
it  imperative  upon  the  President  to  expose  all 
unsurveyed  lands  to  sale  within  two  years 


A  STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN      225 

after  survey  (which  would  have  been  particu 
larly  advantageous  to  experienced  buyers  with 
cash  and  eventually  to  the  States)  was  struck 
out. 

"Half  a  loaf  is  better  than  no  bread,"  said 
Grow  resignedly.  He  had  to  remember  that 
bills  are  usually  sad  compromises;  but  he  was 
very  emphatic  to  his  friends,  when  the  House 
consented  to  pass  this  unsatisfactory  substi 
tute,  that  he  would  have  the  measure  up  for 
amendment  if  the  President  signed  it. 

Nor  was  the  Senate  content!  Johnson  of 
Arkansas  protested  that  he  would  never  have 
voted  for  it  if  it  had  been  proposed  as  amended. 
Because  the  House  got  its  half  loaf  thereby! 

It  went  to  the  President.  Here  lay  a  chance 
to  heal  the  breach.  Everybody  waited  anx 
iously.  As  usual  it  returned  with  Buchanan's 
veto.  As  Green  had  intimated,  the  President 
probably  would  have  negatived  it  in  any  shape. 
His  timidity  in  doing  even  that  which  his  party 
approved  is  characteristic.  On  the  same 
grounds  that  he  had  earlier  objected  to  the 
turnover  of  swamp  lands,  he  opposed  this.  The 
present  transfer  of  twelve  million  acres  of  the 
domain  to  the  States  and  the  involved  further 
transfer  of  much  more  later  disquieted  him. 


226  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Grow,  analyzing  the  President's  veto,  found 
that  in  general  none  of  his  reasons  for  refusal 
were  well  taken.  Constitutional  reasons  were 
outworn  traditions.  Buchanan  charged  that 
the  bill  would  prove  unjust  and  unequal  in  op 
eration  among  the  actual  settlers  themselves, 
yet  the  only  support  for  his  argument  was  his 
belief  that  the  Government  might  not  reduce 
the  price  of  property  without  refunding  to  the 
first  buyers.  There  was  no  defense  for  his  plea 
of  injustice  to  old  soldiers;  warrants  had  been 
made  assignable  and  the  Government's  obli 
gation  was  practically  void.  Equally  his  pro 
tests  against  class  legislation,  injustice  to  me 
chanics,  and  discrimination  between  persons 
claiming  the  benefit  of  the  preemption  laws 
were  insupportable  in  fair  argument. 

His  idea  that  the  bill  would  open  a  vast  field 
for  speculation  while  laying  the  axe  at  the 
root  of  "our  present  admirable  land  system" 
—  when  one  knows  the  facts  about  that  land 
system  —  was  not  destined  to  increase  one's 
admiration  for  the  logic  of  him  who  advanced 
it.  The  remaining  criticisms  were  no  more 
competent:  that  the  bill  was  not  consistent 
with  the  duty  of  maintaining  perfect  equality 
between  the  native-born  and  the  naturalized 


A   STATES'  RIGHTS  PLAN 

citizen,  and  that  it  would  have  a  restrictive 
effect  on  public  revenues.  Even  the  enemies 
of  the  act  had  shown  that  direct  revenues  must 
increase,  since  land  was  not  to  be  a  gift  but 
simply  reduced  in  price,  and  to  be  abandoned 
to  the  States  as  worthless  at  the  end  of  thirty 
years  if  it  was  not  then  sold.  The  truth  was 
that  Buchanan  was  unwilling  to  act  at  all.  His 
alignment  with  the  most  reactionary  among 
the  Democrats  made  him  blind  to  the  last  real 
opportunity  to  call  a  halt  in  the  ominous 
march  of  affairs  by  effecting  a  change  in  the 
land  situation. 

Andrew  Johnson,  in  the  Senate,  in  his  usual 
calm  way  declared  that  his  opinion  upon  the 
measure  was  not  in  the  least  affected  by  the 
decision  of  the  President  and  that  he  still!  be 
lieved  in  the  bill.  Wade  attempted  to  bring 
the  proposition  up  for  another  vote  so  that  it 
might  be  passed  over  the  veto,  but  he  was 
defeated  by  Johnson  of  Arkansas,  who  could 
prevent  a  two-thirds  vote. 

In  retrospect  it  seems  marvelously  lucky 
that  Buchanan  did  not  see  his  blunder.  It  was 
only  by  so  narrow  a  fluke  that  the  South  lost 
this  trick  and  we  were  spared  acknowledgment 
of  States'  rights.  Repeal  or  amendment  after 


228  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

a  law  is  once  through  is  not  always  possible 
with  party  changes,  and  this  act  would  have 
been  particularly  difficult  to  alter  in  principle. 
Circumstanced  as  we  were,  no  general  land 
system  favorable  to  federal  development  could 
have  grown  from  it,  and  what  little  tempo 
rary  good  could  have  been  derived  would  have 
been  heavily  overshadowed  by  the  harm  to 
our  developing  democracy. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

MEN   AND    MEASURES 

THESE  were  years  of  ripening  friendships  for 
Grow,  despite  the  bitter  antagonisms  engen 
dered  by  measures.  He  numbered  among  his 
good  friends  sundry  Southern  leaders  as  well 
as  some  of  the  most  bitter  of  abolitionists 
—  Benjamin,  Houston,  Crittenden,  Stephen 
Mallory,  Hamilton  Fish,  James  Harlan,  and 
Charles  Sumner. 

"  Judah  P.  Benjamin  was  one  of  the  ablest 
lawyers  I  have  ever  met,"  runs  an  autobio 
graphical  note.  "His  powers  of  persuasion 
were  very  great.  He  and  Jefferson  Davis  and 
Robert  Toombs,  the  'Big  Three'  of  the  South 
ern  Democracy,  led  the  entire  Senatorial  force 
hither  and  thither  just  as  they  desired."  Grow 
considered  Benjamin  the  brainiest  man  from 
the  South  while  he  sat  in  the  Senate,  Toombs 
the  most  irascible  and  vindictive,  and  Davis 
sly  as  a  fox  and  smooth  as  silk,  brilliant  and 
in  some  ways  a  very  strong  man  despite  a 
supercilious  manner  which  drove  men  from 


230  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

him  so  that  he  lived  without  many  warm  and 
genial  friends. 

In  the  House,  the  coming  back  of  Thaddeus 
Stevens,  the  great  commoner  from  his  own 
State,  meant  a  great  deal  to  Mr.  Grow,  whose 
especial  group  immediately  surrounded  him. 
In  spite  of  the  fact  that  he  entered  Congress 
at  a  time  when  strong  men  were  plentiful, 
Stevens  won  fame  and  became  a  leader 
quickly,  and  later,  through  innate  ability  and 
remarkable  personality,  rose  to  mastership. 
His  keen  wit  served  him  equally  well  in  argu 
ment  or  emergency,  and  his  remorselessness  as 
an  antagonist  caused  his  sarcasm  to  be  ever 
dreaded  by  his  opponents.  Grow  long  after 
wards  used  to  tell  of  the  famous  occasion  when 
Kellian  V.  Whaley  interrupted  Stevens  in  the 
midst  of  an  important  argument  and  Stevens 
turned  fiercely  on  him,  saying,  "I  yield  to  the 
gentleman  from  West  Virginia  for  a  few  feeble 
remarks."  The  general  uproar  which  followed 
this  sally  drowned  Mr.  Whaley. 

Stevens  was  feared  by  many,  hated  by  some, 
loved  by  a  few;  but  a  little  band,  Elihu  Wash- 
burne,  Owen  Lovejoy,  John  A.  Logan,  Henry 
Winter  Davis,  Anson  Burlingame,  Francis  E. 
Spinner,  Roscoe  Conkling,  Reuben  E.  Fenton, 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          231 

John  Sherman,  Justin  S.  Morrill,  John  Covode, 
and  Horace  Maynard  were  as  devoted  to  him 
as  any  knights  ever  were  to  their  king.  Ver- 
monter  by  birth,  he  possessed  aggressive  power 
and  sterling  qualities  of  frankness  and  honesty. 
A  graduate  of  Dartmouth,  he  practiced  law 
and  served  in  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature 
before  coming  to  Congress.  Originally  a  Whig, 
he  joined  the  Republican  Party  early  and  be 
came  a  violent  radical  -9  moved  to  extremes  be 
cause  he  abhorred  weak-kneed  conservatism. 

Grow  himself,  less  radical,  was  still  likely 
to  engage  in  controversies.  Upon  one  occasion 
in  1859  when  the  Senate  added  to  the  post- 
office  appropriation  bill  a  new  provision  regu 
lating  the  rate  of  postage,  voicing  the  feeling 
of  many  members  who  considered  this  an  in 
fringement  of  the  right  of  the  House  to  origi 
nate  all  revenue  measures,  Grow  took  a  strong 
stand.  The  House  sustained  him  and  the  bill 
failed.  At  the  following  session  L.  O.  Branch, 
of  North  Carolina,  whose  antagonism  had  long 
been  unconcealed,  charged  Grow  with  killing 
the  post-office  bill  in  order  to  compel  an  extra 
session  of  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress,  which 
would  give  the  Republicans  control  of  the 
House. 


232  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Grow  took  the  floor  on  the  29th  of  December 
in  answer  to  the  charge.  He  sharply  chal 
lenged:  "Had  the  gentleman  from  North 
Carolina  been  as  familiar  with  constitutional 
law  and  parliamentary  procedure  as  his  long 
experience  in  legislation  would  have  led  us  to 
suppose,  he  could  have  found  sufficient  and 
abundant  reasons  to  justify  my  conduct  and 
that  of  a  majority  of  the  House  without  vio 
lating  all  parliamentary  and  gentlemanly  cour 
tesies  that  are  recognized  in  all  deliberative 
bodies  by  impugning  the  motives  of  his  peers, 
and  charging  sordid  and  selfish  considerations 
as  the  moving  cause  of  our  actions." 

Branch  sprang  to  his  feet  and  cried,  "Does 
the  gentleman's  language  impute  to  me  any 
conduct  that  is  not  gentlemanly?" 

Grow  arose  amid  profound  silence.  The 
crowd  in  the  packed  galleries  leaned  forward 
to  catch  his  words.  He  remained  thoughtful 
for  a  moment  and  then,  in  a  firm  voice,  said: 
"What  I  said  is  plain  English  and  there  it 
stands.  Impugnment  of  motives  in  a  legisla 
tive  body  is  everywhere  regarded  not  only  as 
unparliamentary,  but  as  ungentlemanly." 

"I  shall  take  your  words  as  an  affirmative 
answer,"  cried  Branch. 


MEN  AND   MEASURES          233 

"The  gentleman  from  North  Carolina  may 
take  what  he  pleases,  but  I  shall  take  nothing 
back!"  retorted  Grow,  resuming  his  seat. 

Branch  paled  with  anger  at  this  reply.  In 
a  moment  he  motioned  his  colleague,  Warren 
Winslow,  to  his  side  and  requested  him  to  take 
a  challenge  to  Grow.  When  the  challenge  was 
presented,  Grow  promptly  replied,  "Regard 
ing  dueling  as  at  variance  with  the  precepts 
of  the  Christian  religion  and  the  sentiments  of 
a  Christian  people,  and  it  being  prohibited  and 
declared  a  crime  by  laws  enacted  by  the  body 
of  which  we  are  members,  I  cannot  recognize 
it,  even  in  cases  of  unwarranted  provocation, 
as  a  justifiable  mode  of  settling  difficulties 
among  men.  But  my  personal  rights  and  the 
freedom  of  debate  guaranteed  by  the  Consti 
tution  I  shall  defend  whenever  they  are  as 
sailed." 

With  this  flat  refusal,  Branch  had  a  right 
under  the  code  to  attack  Grow  at  any  time 
or  place,  and  the  latter's  friends  felt  certain 
that  an  encounter  would  ensue,  as  the  South 
erner  was  fearless,  vindictive,  and  a  devotee 
of  dueling. 

At  this  time  Grow  lived  on  Seventh  Street 
and  took  his  meals  at  the  National  Hotel,  then 


234  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

called  Brown's  Tavern.  His  intimate  friends, 
fearing  he  might  be  attacked  on  his  way  to 
breakfast  the  next  morning,  assembled  at  his 
rooms  to  escort  him  to  the  hotel.  Among  them 
were  Ben  Wade,  Lyman  Trumbull,  Reuben  E. 
Fenton,  and  John  F.  Potter.  Grow  entered  his 
parlor  half -clad,  surprised  to  see  so  many  call 
ers  at  such  an  early  hour,  and  asked,  "Gen 
tlemen,  what  does  this  mean?" 

Senator  Wade  replied,  "  We  have  come  to 
escort  you  to  breakfast  and  to  protect  you  from 
North  Carolina  lead." 

Grow  laughingly  retorted:  "Why,  gentle 
men,  I  do  not  need  an  army  to  take  me  to 
coffee  and  bread.  Give  me  John  Potter.  He 
has  killed  his  grizzly  and  is  a  battalion  in  him 
self.  We  can  take  care  of  the  enemy  whenever 
and  wherever  he  may  attack." 

Potter  agreed  to  act  as  bodyguard  and  the 
rest  left.  Then  arm  in  arm  Potter  and  Grow, 
both  armed  with  revolvers  and  Potter  with 
his  traditional  bowie,  set  forth  down  Seventh 
Street.  On  the  way  to  the  Tavern  Grow  in 
quired,  "Potter,  what  does  your  wife  say  of 
your  volunteering  to  protect  your  friends  from 
assault?" 

"Oh,"  replied  Potter,  "she  told  me  the  other 


MEN  AND   MEASURES          235 

day  that  if  some  one  is  to  be  killed  in  this  cause 
it  might  as  well  be  me  as  any  one!" 

They  entered  the  tavern  and  from  there 
went  to  the  House,  but  neither  Branch  nor  his 
second  was  in  evidence,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  atmosphere  of  immediate  uncertainty  and 
danger  cleared,  and  Branch  was  again  on 
speaking  terms  with  Grow. 

One  of  Grow's  homely  sayings  shows  his  phi 
losophy  in  all  such  dilemmas.  "You've  got  to 
keep  your  spine  right!"  he  would  comment, 
when  stanch,  resolute  adherence  to  a  position 
was  called  for. 

Of  the  other  men  of  Grow's  immediate  group 
none  played  a  more  important  part  than  Cor- 
win,  whose  sterling  qualities  and  fearlessness 
Grow  greatly  admired.  He  had  come  to  Con 
gress  in  1859,  having  previously  served  in  the 
House  and  Senate,  where  he  had  exercised  a 
marked  influence  on  legislation  even  as  early  as 
the  Mexican  War  against  which  he  made  a  cele 
brated  speech. 

Grow,  whose  own  mind  was  of  something 
of  the  same  bent,  considered  Corwin's  kind- 
heartedness  and  sympathy  somewhat  excep 
tional. 

"I  have  seen  him,"  he  recounted,  "step  out 


236  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

and  roundly  lecture  a  man  who  was  beating 
his  horses.  He  was  against  whipping-posts, 
and  while  he  was  in  the  Ohio  Legislature  he 
spoke  in  favor  of  repealing  a  measure  in  which 
the  sheriff  was  authorized  to  punish  certain 
prisoners  for  minor  offenses  by  'putting  thirty- 
nine  lashes  on  the  back  of  the  culprit.'  An  old 
Connecticut  Yankee  who  had  settled  in  the 
Western  Reserve  objected  to  the  repeal  on  the 
ground  that  in  Connecticut  a  similar  law  ex 
isted  and  when  applied  resulted  usually  in 
driving  the  offender  from  the  community. 
Corwin  retorted:  'I  have  often  tried  to  find 
out  why  there  had  been  such  an  influx  of  Con 
necticut  Yankees  into  this  State.  The  gentle 
man,  formerly  a  resident  of  the  Nutmeg  State, 
has  explained  it  to  my  complete  satisfaction.' ' 
With  the  best  of  good  humor  between  the 
two  friends,  that  dark  chapter  of  history  which 
preceded  Mr.  Lincoln's  accession  to  the  Presi 
dency,  since  effaced  from  popular  memory  by 
the  mighty  events  which  followed  it,  brought 
a  strong  need  of  mutual  support.  Corwin  was 
the  drafter  of  an  amendment  to  the  Constitu 
tion  which  passed  Congress  in  the  last  days 
of  Buchanan's  term,  providing  that  slavery 
should  never  be  interfered  with  in  any  State 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          237 

where  it  then  existed.  Grow  naturally  did  not 
favor  this  final  peace  offering  to  the  South, 
but  in  view  of  the  terrible,  dissentient  state  of 
public  feeling  considered  it  justified. 

The  Democratic  split,  which  resulted  in  the 
Northern  wing  putting  up  Douglas  and  the 
Southern  Breckinridge  for  President,  had  lost 
them  the  election.  Lincoln,  Republican  candi 
date,  had  a  large  plurality  of  both  the  electoral 
and  popular  votes,  but  the  two  Democratic 
factions  combined  polled  nearly  four  hundred 
thousand  more  votes  than  he,  while  over  a 
half -million  votes  were  cast  for  Bell,  the  candi 
date  of  the  old  Know-Nothings  and  the  Whigs 
who  had  not  yet  allied  themselves  with  either 
Republicans  or  Democrats  —  a  state  of  affairs 
which  prompted  the  charge  that  Lincoln  was 
a  "minority  President,"  and  led  secessionists 
to  call  him  even  a  "usurper."  Called  to  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  nation  on  the  issue  of 
"Free  Homes  for  Free  Men,"  no  sooner  was 
his  election  assured  than  a  convention  was  held 
in  South  Carolina  to  pass  an  ordinance  of  se 
cession.  Intense  excitement  prevailed  through 
out  the  country:  every  one  felt  the  stress  of 
coming  storm. 

President  Buchanan's   hopelessly   unsatis- 


238  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

factory  Message  when  Congress  convened  in 
December,  the  utterance  of  a  halting,  unde 
cided  man,  was  significant  only  in  its  final,  de 
spairing  appeal  for  conciliation.  Committees 
in  both  Houses  were  formed  to  frame  compro 
mise  measures,  with  a  Democratic  member 
ship  of  thirteen  in  the  Senate  (to  represent  the 
original  thirteen  States)  and  one  of  thirty- 
three  in  the  House  (to  represent  the  number 
then  in  the  Union),  and  of  the  latter  Corwin 
was  chairman.  The  Senate  committee  failed 
to  agree;  but  Corwin  reported  a  scheme  pro 
viding,  among  other  things,  for  the  abolition  of 
personal  liberty  laws  of  the  Northern  States; 
for  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  as  a  State; 
for  the  amendment  of  the  fugitive  slave  laws 
so  that  the  right  of  freedom  of  an  alleged  fugi 
tive  should  be  determined  by  a  court  of  the 
State  from  which  he  was  fleeing  instead  of  by 
a  tribunal  of  the  State  where  he  was  caught; 
and  for  the  amendment,  which  Corwin  drafted, 
declaring  that  "no  amendment  shall  be  made 
to  the  Constitution  which  will  authorize  or 
give  to  Congress  the  power  to  abolish  or  inter 
fere  in  any  State  with  the  domestic  institutions 
thereof,  including  that  of  persons  held  to  labor 
or  service  by  the  laws  of  said  State."  And  this 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          239 

was  to  be  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  of  the 
Constitution ! 

The  bill  was  passed  by  the  House,  where 
there  was  a  Republican  majority,  by  a  vote  of 
133  to  65  on  the  last  day  of  February  in  1861. 
Grow,  indignant  at  the  attempt  to  take  Wash 
ington  and  declare  Jefferson  Davis  President 
for  the  time  being;  also  at  other  exposed 
intrigues  and  the  conspiracy  against  Lincoln 
which  had  made  the  President's  journey  to  the 
Capitol  perilous,  still  supported  the  bill.  At 
heart  he  would  have  preferred  that  the  North 
should  not  bend  its  back  in  obedience  to  be 
lated  pacific  motives,  but  it  seemed  to  most 
Republicans  that  the  war  must  be  stopped  at 
price  of  any  reasonable  compromise;  and  Cor- 
win's  influence  on  Grow  was  strong. 

Fort  Moultrie  had  already  been  evacuated; 
insurrection  had  already  begun.  He  supposed, 
however,  in  spite  of  this,  that  the  Southern 
leaders  might  accept  the  advantage  so  oppor 
tunely  given  them;  in  his  eyes  if  the  South  did 
not,  it  would  be  making  a  grave  tactical  blun 
der.  By  acquiescing  promptly  in  this  settle 
ment  they  would  secure  an  advantage  of  con 
clusive  value  and  confirm,  past  all  possible 
chance  of  future  disturbance,  the  existence  of 


240  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

slavery  in  all  Southern  States.  They  might 
have  perpetuated  the  institution  without  firing 
a  gun  if  they  had  improved  the  opportunity 
thus  presented. 

But  the  poison  of  secession  had  laid  hold  of 
them.  The  compromise  came  too  late.  The 
Buchanan  Administration,  apparently  dream 
ing  on  in  treasonable  repose,  had  mysteriously 
moved  men  and  munitions.  The  army  had 
been  scattered  as  far  as  possible  so  that  they 
were  unavailable  in  an  emergency.  Ships  had 
been  ordered  to  distant  points  where  they  could 
not  be  of  immediate  use.  The  Treasury  had 
been  depleted ;  arms  stored  for  national  defense 
had  been  secretly  disposed  of.  Yet,  believing 
Buchanan  paralyzed  by  vacillation  and  indif 
ference,  the  North  was  not  yet  aroused  to  the 
true  condition  of  things. 

The  Senate,  during  the  night  preceding 
March  4,  adopted  the  Corwin  measure,  and 
the  President  signed  it  only  an  hour  before 
the  inauguration  of  his  successor.  Grow  was 
deeply  concerned,  but  fortunately  the  pro 
posed  surrender  of  all  the  principles  for  which 
the  North  was  soon  to  fight  was  not  consum 
mated.  Only  two  States  ever  took  action  on 
the  matter,  for  there  the  undertaking  was 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          241 

stopped  by  the  war.  Instead,  troops  were  hur 
ried  into  the  field  and  the  clash  of  arms  silenced 
politicians  who  were  willing  that  "slavery 
should  become  immortal."  For  the  first  time 
"the  oppressors  and  not  the  oppressed  re 
belled." 

Lincoln,  assuming  control  of  national  affairs, 
warning  seceding  States  in  his  famous  inaugu 
ral  address  against  further  violence,  was  an 
swered  by  Sumter,  where  the  flag,  fired  upon, 
went  down  in  ruined  battlements.  He  called 
for  seventy-five  thousand  volunteers  and  three 
hundred  thousand  responded.  The  voluntary 
military  organization  known  as  the  "Clay 
Brigade"  was  armed  to  protect  the  capital. 
Grow,  with  many  other  Northern  and  Western 
members  of  Congress,  joined  it  and  served 
until  the  Massachusetts  and  New  York  vol 
unteers,  under  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler, 
arrived  by  way  of  Annapolis  and  took  charge 
of  Washington. 

Then  events  absorbed  Grow:  the  Sixth 
Massachusetts  in  trying  to  pass  through  Bal 
timore  was  mobbed;  Ellsworth,  the  brilliant 
commander  of  the  Zouaves,  was  assassinated 
while  trying  to  haul  down  the  rebel  flag  in 
Alexandria;  the  battle  of  Big  Bethel  was  fought 


242  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

and  lost;  and  at  last  the  country  awoke  to 
the  realization  that  "the  irrepressible  conflict" 
had  arrived,  and  grim  determination  seized 
the  North  that  come  what  might  the  Union 
must  be  preserved.  Troops  began  to  move 
faster. 

A  regiment  from  Pennsylvania  came  to 
Washington.  Grow  took  a  company  from  his 
own  district  up  to  see  the  President.  Lincoln 
came  out,  busy  as  he  was.  He  stopped,  looked 
about,  put  his  hand  behind  him  and  said, 
"When  I  get  this  handkerchief  out  of  this  coat- 
tail  pocket,  I  intend  to  shake  hands  with  you 
boys!"  After  something  of  a  tussle  he  found 
the  handkerchief  and  genially  took  them  in 
turn. 

There  never  was  a  time  in  our  history  when 
policies  and  men  meant  so  much,  and  Grow 
put  every  bit  of  his  dynamic  force  into  effort 
to  help  where  he  might.  Information  coming 
his  way  which  he  felt  might  aid  the  Adminis 
tration,  he  felt  it  was  a  duty  to  pass  on  to  the 
proper  authorities.  He  knew  Simon  Cameron, 
from  his  own  State;  had  been  thrown  some 
what  closely  with  him.  Cameron's  term  in  the 
Senate  would  expire  several  years  later,  but 
Lincoln  had  taken  him  from  the  Senate  and 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          243 

made  him  his  first  Secretary  of  War.  From  the 
first  Cameron  seemed  to  have  misfortune:  he 
could  not  bring  about  results.  The  lagging 
condition  of  affairs  seemed  to  augur  disaster 
to  the  Government.  Grow  felt  constrained  to 
write  him  frankly,  and  sent  the  following  letter, 
which  was  fraught  with  many  results  for  its 
writer:  — 

GLENWOOD,  PA.,  May  5,  1861. 

HON.  SIMON  CAMERON, 
Secretary  of  War. 

MY  DEAR  SIR:  — 

Reached  home  last  night  by  way  of  New  York. 
You  have  no  conception  of  feeling,  universal  in  the 
Northern  mind,  for  the  prosecution  of  war  until 
the  flag  floats  from  every  spot  on  which  it  had  a 
right  to  float  a  year  ago.  If  the  Administration 
fails  to  prosecute  the  war  to  that  end,  it  will  sink 
in  the  popular  heart  below  that  of  the  Buchanan 
Administration.  There  is  but  one  feeling  with  all 
classes,  parties,  and  sects  —  that  is,  that  the  rebels 
must  lay  down  their  arms  everywhere  and  the 
Union  of  the  States  be  restored  before  this  conflict 
closes.  There  is  great  dissatisfaction  in  New  York 
at  the  ordering  of  General  Wool  back  to  Troy, 
instead  of  acknowledging  his  services  at  the  very 
critical  point  of  time  when  all  communications 
with  Washington  were  cut  off.  For  four  or  five 
days  they  heard  nothing  from  Washington  and  no 
one  received  any  orders.  It  would  be  well  if  you 
could  devise  some  way  to  have  all  men  that  offer 


244  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

their  services  received,  but  detained,  however,  in 
the  States  until  they  are  called  for.  The  men  who 
have  left  their  business  cannot  wait  long  without 
pay  from  some  source.  In  my  judgment  the  enthu 
siasm  of  the  hour  ought  not  to  be  repressed  by  flat 
refusals  on  the  part  of  the  Government.  Let  the 
men  be  held  in  the  States.  The  people  of  New 
York  and  other  cities  are  very  impatient  for  Bal 
timore  to  be  opened,  and  on  the  rumor  that  the 
Government  would  not  invade  Virginia  t  iey  were 
perfectly  indignant,  and  I  wish  to  say  to  you  that 
if  the  Government  adopts  that  policy  a  universal  exe 
cration  will  go  up  from  the  North  and  you  will  be 
as  powerless  in  thirty  days  as  you  are  now  powerful. 

I  saw  many  of  the  solid  men  of  New  York,  and 
they  will  embark  their  all  in  this  contest  provided 
the  Administration  will  prosecute  it  to  the  bitter 
end  if  need  be,  to  quell  the  insurrection  so  that  no 
madcap  will  ever  try  the  experiment  again. 

I  beg  your  pardon  for  trespassing  so  long  upon 
your  attention.  My  object  is  briefly  to  assure  you 
that  any  measures  if  efficient,  no  matter  what  the 
cost  is  of  prosecuting  the  war,  would  be  more  satis 
factory  if  they  had  the  foregoing  results. 
Most  truly  yours, 

GALUSHA  A.  GROW. 

Perhaps  Grow  trusted  to  a  more  complete 
understanding  of  his  motives  and  a  more  defi 
nite  friendliness  than  existed.  Prompted  purely 
by  patriotism,  he  wrote  as  he  always  spoke, 
directly  to  the  person  concerned,  and  without 


MEN  AND  MEASURES          245 

effort  at  diplomacy.  The  Republic  was  passing 
through  a  terrible  ordeal.  Grow  was  soon  to 
know  that  he  had  not  gauged  his  man;  Cam 
eron  did  not  take  kindly  to  his  advice.  Grow 
was  to  find  out  that  Cameron  had  a  long 
memory  and  forgave  slowly  if  at  all. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE   SPEAKERSHIP 

LINCOLN'S  sublime  determination  to  save  the 
Union  was  immediately  felt.  He  called  to 
gether  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  in  extra 
ordinary  session  on  July  4,  the  eighty-fifth 
anniversary  of  the  nation's  birth.  To  be  a 
council  of  gloom  and  glory,  it  had  a  momen 
tous  opening:  excited  multitudes  packed  the 
galleries  of  both  the  House  and  the  Senate, 
and  throngs  stormed  the  doors  in  vain  for 
admission.  On  the  floor  of  the  House  the  men 
with  whom  Grow  mingled  seemed  silent  and 
awed.  If  the  depression  which  prevailed  there 
could  have  been  distributed,  there  would  have 
been  no  cheerful  face  at  the  seat  of  government. 
Many  Southern  Representatives,  grown 
white  in  the  service  of  their  country,  had  re 
signed  and  gone  sadly  from  Washington,  leav 
ing  numerous  vacant  seats.  The  assemblage 
of  men  was  still-notable,  although  there  were 
only  178  members  of  the  Thirty -seventh  Con 
gress  as  against  237  previously.  Among  those 
who  remained  were  three  subsequent  Vice- 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  247 

Presidents,  four  subsequent  Governors,  twelve 
subsequent  Senators;  altogether  a  Congress 
of  big  men  met  to  consider  questions  of  grave 
moment.  There  was  the  silent  and  grave  John 
J.  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky,  whose  name  con 
nected  the  past  political  struggle  of  Congress 
with  the  great  civil  conflict  which  had  just 
begun;  and  courtly  Morrill,  of  Vermont,  who 
afterwards  became  the  "Father  of  the  Sen 
ate."  Thaddeus  Stevens,  who  did  more  than 
any  other  one  man  to  place  the  common- 
school  system  of  the  State  and  Nation  on  an 
enduring  foundation;  the  "Tall  Sycamore  of 
the  Wabash,"  Daniel  W.  Voorhees;  Schuyler 
Coif  ax,  later  Speaker,  and  then  Vice-President; 
William  A.  Wheeler,  also  afterwards  Vice- 
President;  William  Windom,  subsequently 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury;  John  A.  Logan, 
whose  memory  is  dear  to  every  Union  soldier; 
William  D.  Kelley,  the  tariff  leader;  Roscoe 
Conkling,  "haughty  and  proud,  with  ambro 
sial  locks,"  and  a  conspicuous  personality  on 
the  floor  —  all  these  played  a  strong  part  in 
the  Congress.  Francis  P.  Blair,  the  "bold 
trapper  of  the  Rockies";  George  H.  Pendle- 
ton,  creator  of  the  Civil  Service;  Samuel  S. 
Cox,  founder  of  the  Life-Saving  System;  and 


248  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

William  S.  Holman,  afterwards  called  the 
"Burglar-Proof  Safe  of  the  National  Treas 
ury,"  were  also  useful  and  active  members. 

There  was  but  little  formality  in  organizing 
the  House.  John  Hickman,  of  Pennsylvania, 
named  Francis  P.  Blair  for  Speaker.  Thaddeus 
Stevens  placed  Grow's  name  on  the  list.  Upon 
the  ballot  showing  only  forty  votes  for  Blair 
he  withdrew,  which  gave  Grow  a  majority 
without  further  ceremony.  Without  the  for 
mality  of  a  caucus,  at  the  age  of  thirty-seven, 
to  be  chosen  Speaker  of  the  House  was  a  great 
tribute,  especially  as  then  —  and  until  1886  — 
the  place  was  only  two  removes  from  the  Presi 
dency.  In  addition,  this  was  a  War  Congress. 
When  the  vote  was  announced  proclaiming  his 
election,  the  Confederate  flag  was  flying  from 
the  hills  of  Virginia  in  full  sight  of  the  Capitol. 
The  actualities  of  conflict  had  overtaken  the 
"doughfaces  and  copperheads"  of  the  North 
who  would  have  been  content  to  cry,  "Let  the 
erring  sisters  go  in  peace!"  and  this  Congress 
would  have  to  deal  with  momentous  issues. 

No  wonder  Grow's  speech  of  acceptance,  well 
received,  was  serious,  and  soberly  spoken!  It 
would  tax  any  courage  to  face  so  broad  a  re 
sponsibility.  He  confessed  that  he  was  "over- 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  249 

whelmed  and  depressed."  No  note  escaped 
him,  however,  save  one  of  patriotism,  forti 
tude,  and  faith,  but  he  finished  his  short  address 
with  these  words,  indicative  of  his  humility:  — 

.  .  .  Invoking  for  our  guidance  wisdom  from  that 
Divine  Power  which  led  our  fathers  through  the 
red  sea  of  Revolution,  I  enter  upon  the  discharge 
of  the  duties  to  which  you  have  assigned  me,  rely 
ing  upon  your  forbearance  and  cooperation,  and 
trusting  that  your  labors  will  contribute  not  a  little 
to  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the  Republic. 

Then  Congress  settled  to  its  immensely 
trying  work.  That  Congress  raised  the  first 
troops,  created  legal-tender  notes  as  a  war 
measure,  and  issued  the  first  bonds.  In  spite 
of  the  absence  of  Southern  members,  the  state 
of  general  anxiety  made  it  a  session  in  which 
there  was  much  bitterness  of  debate  and  now 
and  then  violent  expressions  of  temper.  Dur 
ing  the  next  five  weeks  vast  plans  for  the  army 
and  navy  had  to  be  adopted,  ways  and  means 
provided  for  their  support,  appropriations 
reaching  into  hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars 
passed  for  war  purposes,  the  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment  toward  the  seceding  States  defined, 
intricate  foreign  questions  adjusted  so  far  as 
Congress  had  power,  provision  made  for  the 
collection  of  duties,  plans  for  making  appropri- 


250  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

ations  for  the  legislative,  executive,  and  judi 
cial  departments  devised,  laws  looking  to  the 
confiscation  of  property  used  for  insurrection 
ary  purposes  and  to  increase  our  consular 
representation  put  through.  The  total  appro 
priations  of  the  session  amounted  to  nearly 
$350,000,000,  against  $66,000,000  the  previous 
session. 

Seventeen  days  after  Grow  assumed  the 
Speakership,  eighteen  thousand  Union  soldiers 
under  the  command  of  General  McDowell  met 
the  rebel  army  at  Bull  Run.  Grow  writes :  — 

When  the  defeat  at  Bull  Run  occurred  and  the 
Union  army  was  thrown  into  confusion  and  rout, 
Lincoln  said  to  me  one  evening:  "My  boys  are 
green  at  the  fighting  business,  but  wait  till  they 
get  licked  enough  to  raise  their  dander!  Then  the 
cry  will  be, '  On  to  Richmond*  and  no  *  Stone- walls 
will  stop  them!" 

The  people  of  the  North  generally,  afforded 
a  surprising  spectacle  by  that  mysterious  panic 
which  seized  the  Union  forces  at  Bull  Run 
and  hurled  them  back  upon  Washington  in  dis 
order,  awoke  to  a  realization  that  the  rabid 
abolitionists  had  been  false  prophets  and  dan 
gerous  advisers.  Boasts  that  they  could  march 
a  drove  of  Durham  cows  into  Virginia  and 
capture  the  State  without  the  loss  of  a  calf, 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  251 

because  Southerners  would  not  be  able  to  fight 
without  negroes  to  carry  their  guns,  were  has 
tily  forgotten,  and  the  "Bluecoats"  settled  to 
their  task  with  the  knowledge  that  the  South 
was  alive  with  men  of  invincible  courage. 

During  the  excitement  about  Bull  Run  and 
shortly  after  the  adjournment  of  the  extra 
session,  Grow  wrote  to  that  controversial  fig 
ure  of  power,  General  Butler,  requesting  that 
he  be  appointed  upon  his  staff  so  that  he  might 
have  actual  service  in  the  field  before  the  con 
vening  of  the  regular  session.  The  following 
was  his  reply:  — 

WASHINGTON,  D.C. 
MY  DEAR  SIR:  — 

When  I  got  your  note  I  was  about  to  start  upon 
an  expedition  of  which  you  may  have  heard  since. 

Having  been  superseded,  being  apparently  in  a 
situation  which  would  render  the  offer  of  a  place 
upon  my  staff  as  an  intended  insult,  I  determined 
not  to  answer  it  until  times  changed ;  and  you  may 
now,  without  disgrace,  take  service  with  me.  I 
leave  for  Massachusetts  to-day,  and  shall  be  again 
in  the  field  with  a  command  at  once  independent 
and  active.  You  will  need  nothing  but  a  blue  flan 
nel  suit  made  of  army  pattern  for  Major,  a  sword, 
shoulder  straps,  spurs,  a  belt,  revolver,  blankets, 
and  overcoat. 

We  will  have  two  months  before  the  fifteenth  of 
November  of  service  or  leave  Congress  without  a 


252  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Speaker.  You  are  at  the  Springs  for  your  health. 
Why  not  come  to  Massachusetts  and  stop  with  me? 
You  can  get  your  equipment  there  and  we  will 
confer  upon  necessary  matters  of  our  campaign. 

Do  come.  You  have  many  friends  in  the  Com 
monwealth  who  will  be  glad  to  see  you,  and  none 
more  than 

Yours  truly, 

BENJAMIN  F.  BUTLER. 
HONORABLE  GALUSHA  GROW, 
SHARON  SPRINGS. 

Owing  to  the  pressing  duties  of  the  Speaker- 
ship,  Grow  was  advised  by  the  President  and 
many  members  not  to  accept  service  with 
General  Butler.  He  was  busy  enough  in  Wash 
ington  during  the  interim  between  the  extra 
and  second  sessions. 

All  his  free  time  he  spent  in  the  Virginia  mil 
itary  camps  or  hospitals.  His  sister-in-law, 
who  with  Frederick  Grow  had  come  with  him 
to  live  in  Washington,  accompanied  him  fre 
quently  to  lend  assistance  to  the  suffering. 
Besides  much  general  work  they  looked  after 
the  boys  from  their  own  district  who  were 
under  the  colors.  They  searched  the  trains  of 
sick  and  wounded  as  they  came  in  and  super 
vised  the  care  of  many  they  knew  in  hospitals. 
Some  Grow  fed  from  his  own  table;  certain 
ones  he  tended  like  brothers.  He  showed  the 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  253 

utmost  thoughtf ulness,  as  for  instance  in  one 
"head  case,''  who  had  always  to  lie  motion 
less  in  one  position.  In  order  that  this  protege 
might  better  see  and  enjoy  the  flowers  they 
took  in  profusion  to  the  hospitals,  the  digni 
fied  Speaker  painstakingly  pinned  bouquets  to 
the  counterpane  near  the  foot  of  the  bed! 

The  Thirty-seventh  Congress  was  epoch- 
making  for  the  nation.  Not  alone  the  extensive 
war  measures  had  to  be  put  through,  but  most 
important  economic  advances  were  made.  "It 
seems,"  says  A.  G.  Riddle,  "to  have  been  pos 
sibly  the  first  whose  vision  and  grasp  embraced 
the  continent."  The  creation  of  the  Depart 
ment  of  Agriculture,  discussed  for  two  decades, 
but  needing  the  direct  cooperation  of  force 
ful  men  like  Grow  and  Lovejoy,  was  at  last 
effected.  It  had  become  impossible,  as  both 
knew  from  personal  experience,  longer  to 
handle  the  immense  farming  interests  of  the 
country  through  the  Interior  Department  and 
congressional  committees.  This  change  meant 
that  our  great  fundamental  industry,  farming, 
would  receive  immense  aid. 

Looking  always,  with  perceptions  sharpened 
by  deep  realization  of  the  difficulties  of  amal 
gamating  the  interests  of  the  States,  to  find  the 


254  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

ways  to  link  the  parts  of  the  continent  more 
firmly,1  this  Congress  enacted  the  Pacific  Rail 
road  and  Telegraph  Law,  fought  over  since 
1850.  There  was  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  life 
need  of  the  nation.  Grow  had  consistently 
opposed  the  grants  of  land,  and  when  the  act 
was  passed  in  1862  it  was  not  in  a  form  suffi 
ciently  liberal  to  attract  capital,2  naturally  shy 
at  that  period,  —  a  fact  which  seems  strange 
to-day  when  one  considers  that  the  company 
was  granted  ten  alternate  sections  per  mile  and 
bonds  to  the  extent  of  $50,000,000!  But  Grow 
was  eager  enough  to  see  the  rails  ribboning 
the  way  to  the  Pacific,  knowing  that  a  won 
derful  diffusion  of  population  must  follow  into 
the  wilderness.  He  was  roused  to  submission 
as  to  land  by  enthusiasm  over  uniting  the 
Atlantic  and  the  Pacific  by  the  "  mighty  lasso" 
of  the  railroad  and  telegraph. 

The  Homestead  Act  was,  however,  the 
greatest  test  of  the  capacity  of  this  Congress 
for  broad  action,  for  it  dealt  with  the  high 
destiny  of  the  nation.  Crown  of  a  group  of  land 
bills,  among  them  that  which  granted  lands 
to  state  colleges  of  agriculture  and  mechanics 
and  another  reducing  the  expense  of  survey  of 

1  Godkin.  2  Haney,  Railroad  Grants. 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  255 

the  domain,  the  Homestead  Bill  was  by  all 
odds  the  most  significant  measure  which  was 
brought  forward. 

Grow  faced  his  opportunity  exultantly.  In 
the  last  session  of  the  previous  Congress  he 
had  re-introduced  his  own  bill  and  secured  its 
passage  in  the  House,  but  when  it  went  to  the 
Senate  Andrew  Johnson  piloted  it  into  but 
not  out  of  his  committee.  War  issues  crowding 
to  climax  absorbed  every  one's  attention.  But 
now  the  South  was  no  longer  in  the  way.  The 
President  was  favorable  to  the  passage  of  a 
proper  bill. 

But  the  fifth  and  last  act  of  the  Homestead 
drama  was  not  to  be  simply  played  out.  The 
North,  it  was  true,  believed  that  the  theory 
would  prove  expedient  in  practice.  They  knew 
how  essential  it  was  to  stop  that  speculation 
and  sale  of  large  tracts  to  non-residents  which 
had  been  such  a  dire  curse  to  the  West  — 
which  had  retarded  the  growth  of  communities, 
delayed  internal  improvements,  forbade  a  gen 
eral  system  of  public  schools,  and  hampered 
social  and  moral  improvement.  But  the  very 
nation  was  insecure.  Even  if  the  principle  was 
sound,  was  it  expedient?  The  question  was 
giving  away  lands  which  were  a  possible  source 


256  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

of  revenue  at  a  time  when  the  Treasury  was 
drained  by  war.  The  credit  of  the  nation  was 
based  on  public  lands  and  it  might  there 
fore  be  damaged  abroad.  Congress  was  by  no 
means  in  a  happy  humor  to  discuss  construc 
tive  plans.  It  took  considerable  courage,  while 
it  was  dubious  whether  the  North  would  hold 
the  nation  together,  to  ask  its  Congress  to  take 
this  step.  It  was  a  test  of  their  faith  in  them 
selves. 

Grow  had  no  hesitation  in  demanding  action 
on  what  he  felt  to  be  a  measure  observing  com 
mon  interests,  conserving  social  and  political 
equality,  and  promoting  common  hopes.  Since 
it  was  not  in  order  for  the  Speaker  personally 
to  propose  bills,  Lovejoy  and  Potter  were  both 
willing  agents.  Potter,  however,  had  set  his 
mind  most  firmly  on  combining  a  bounty  of 
both  cash  and  land  for  soldiers  with  the  sim 
ple  homestead  proposal,  a  combination  the 
Speaker  did  not  at  all  relish.  Lovejoy,  there 
fore,  perhaps  at  Crow's  instigation,  introduced 
the  straight  bill  and  asked  immediate  action 
almost  upon  the  very  moment  of  the  House 
convening. 

But  Lovejoy  made  the  mistake  of  doing  it 
improperly.  Potter  was  on  guard  to  get  what 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  257 

he  wanted,  and  objected  that  there  had  been 
no  sufficient  notice  of  Lovejoy's  bill,  and  that 
he  had  not  been  instructed  by  a  majority  of 
the  committee,  facts  which  Love  joy  had  to 
admit.  The  Speaker  had,  therefore,  to  sustain 
Potter's  proposal,  comforting  himself  that, 
with  the  exception  of  the  bounty  feature,  and 
such  slight  differences  as  the  provision  that 
eighty  acres  subject  to  preemption  might  be 
taken  if  preferred  to  one  hundred  and  sixty 
acres,  priced  heretofore  at  a  dollar  and  a  quar 
ter  an  acre,  Potter's  bill  was  identical. 

Grow  left  the  Chair  in  charge  of  Elihu 
Washburne  to  take  the  floor  and  assert  once 
more  that  which  was  close  to  his  heart. 

"I  want  the  Government  to  protect  the 
rights  of  men,  the  hearthstones  and  firesides 
of  those  who  have  gone  forth  to  people  the  wil 
derness  and  build  up  the  great  empires  which 
to-day  span  the  continent  and  have  made  this 
country  the  wonder  and  admiration  of  the 
world,"  he  had  said  not  long  before,  and  this  day 
his  message  was  the  same.  He  called  atten 
tion  to  the  fact  that  the  bill  had  already  passed 
the  House  five  times  in  the  last  ten  years.  He 
urged  that  it  should  be  sufficiently  matured  for 
immediate  action.  No  measure  had  ever  been 


£58  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

more  emphatically  approved  by  the  people, 
especially  that  portion  of  it  which  was  still 
loyal  to  the  Constitution.  The  contention  that 
the  public  land  should  not  be  sold  when  the 
Treasury  was  in  bad  condition,  he  dealt  with 
by  quoting  from  the  Commissioner  of  the 
General  Land  Office,  who  reported  that  for 
some  time  the  domain  had  ceased  to  be  a 
source  of  income.  Almost  all  the  land  for  years 
previous  had  been  paid  for  in  scrip.  He  stated 
strongly  that  the  credit  of  a  nation  was  not 
standardized  by  the  amount  of  unproductive 
property  it  might  possess,  but  by  the  ability 
of  its  people  to  pay  taxes. 

His  one  protest  on  the  form  of  the  bill  was 
against  the  issue  of  bounty  land  warrants. 
This,  he  said,  was  surplusage,  as  every  soldier 
who  wanted  actually  to  occupy  land  had  the 
same  chance  at  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres 
as  had  every  one  else.  It  was  sufficient,  to  his 
mind,  to  provide  money  bounty;  and  to  give 
the  land  to  non-settlers  was  to  repeat  the  old 
mistake  of  conferring  unsubstantial  benefit  at 
the  cost  of  lasting  injury  to  the  people.  Now, 
more  than  ever,  he  urged,  it  was  the  true  pol 
icy  of  the  Government  to  grant  the  domain  to 
genuine  settlers. 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  259 

If  it  seemed  a  test  of  faith  to  ask  this  Con 
gress  to  pass  a  measure  of  such  moment  at  the 
very  time  the  Union  itself  was  insecure,  it  is 
certain  that  in  reality  the  war  was  the  last  and 
best  reason  for  opening  the  commonage.  Hoi- 
man,  of  Indiana,  concurring  in  general  with 
the  "condensed  and  forcible  argument  of  Mr. 
Grow,"  declared  that  "the  policy  of  applying 
the  public  lands  in  such  a  manner  as  to  increase 
the  number  of  secure  and  independent  home 
steads  was  of  first  importance,  vital,  indeed,  to 
the  ultimate  stability  of  the  Republic."  Never 
theless  he  begged,  with  unwise  sentimental 
ity,  that  the  bill  should  be  recommitted  to  the 
Committee  on  Public  Lands  with  instructions 
to  amend1  it  to  extend  the  bounty  land  laws 
of  1855  to  the  soldiers  of  the  existing  war.  He 
contended  that  this  would  not  interfere  with 
the  homestead  feature. 

To  save  the  domain  from  just  such  mis 
taken  generosity  constituted  a  new  phase  of 
the  problem,  new  because  the  feeling  was  sin 
cere  and  not  used  as  a  ruse  to  help  speculators. 
Holman's  plan  would  have  absorbed  practi 
cally  the  entire  domain.  It  failed  because  the 
advocates  of  the  homestead,  even  those  like 
Potter,  who  wanted  a  bounty,  felt  that  this 


260  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

was  going  too  far.  Potter,  urging  his  own 
land-bounty  idea,  agreed  entirely  that  settle 
ment  must  be  the  main  end.  "Our  paralyzed 
interests  require,"  he  said,  "that  we  do  all  in 
our  power  to  invite  immigration  and  capital 
to  our  unoccupied  lands.  No  wiser  policy  can 
be  adopted  in  the  present  condition  of  the 
country."  The  measure  passed  the  House  at 
last,  February  28,  upon  a  vote  of  107  to  16, 
carrying  a  bounty  of  thirty  dollars  cash  for 
each  three  months'  soldier,  one  hundred  dollars 
for  those  enlisted  for  the  whole  war,  and  each 
soldier  was  awarded  a  quarter-section  in  ad 
dition. 

In  the  Senate,  reported  with  amendments,  it 
met  comparatively  light  opposition.  The  big 
gest  part  of  the  change  effected  was  to  make 
the  act  rebel-tight,  —  sadly  inevitable  while 
the  war  occupied  the  mental  foreground,  —  so 
that  no  man  having  borne  arms  against  the 
Government  should  be  permitted  to  take  land 
under  it.  Wade,  acting  as  he  always  had  upon 
this  proposal  in  sympathy  with  Grow,  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  that  which  the  Speaker  felt  to 
be  essential,  and  Grow  until  his  death  spoke 
with  gratitude  of  Wade's  part  in  the  matter. 
He  caused  the  military  bounty  clauses,  which 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  261 

were  not  economic  but  sentimental,  to  be 
struck  out  and  the  title  amended  to  the  simple 
Homestead.  Some  minor  amendments  were 
added,  the  act  passed,  and  the  concurrence  of 
the  House  asked  upon  the  changes. 

The  House  disagreed  at  first,.being  mindful 
of  its  precious  dignity,  and  asked  a  conference. 
Potter  hated  to  see  the  beloved  project  shorn 
of  all  that  was  his.  The  result,  however,  was 
that  Grow  pressed  gallantly  for  a  settlement; 
the  House  concurred.  The  act  went  to  the 
President.  Lincoln  signed  it  the  20th  of  May, 
1862. 

So  the  drama  happily  ended,  and  the  bad 
Graduation  Act  of  1854  was  supplanted.  To 
Grow,  the  glory  of  his  Speakership  was  to  sign 
the  Homestead  Act  for  which  he  had  labored 
for  ten  years,  for  which  he  had  fought  as  men 
fight  only  for  the  things  essentially  close  to 
their  hearts.  That  original  impulse  of  his  boy 
hood  had  carried  him  through  many  disap 
pointments  to  positive  achievement.  By  this 
act  he  knew  that  the  national  commonage 
would  go  to  the  toiling  millions,  where  by  all 
the  principles  of  justice  and  by  the  laws  of  na 
ture  it  rightfully  belonged.  He  had  put  every 
fiber  of  his  heart  into  this  work  inspired  by 


262  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

the  ideal  of  a  greater  America,  of  a  well-based 
democracy,  and  his  success  was  largely  due  to 
his  singleness  of  aim. 

The  law  went  into  effect  at  the  same  time 
as  the  Emancipation  Proclamation,  January  1, 
1863.  If  the  Thirty-seventh  Congress  had  per 
formed  no  other  service  than  the  passage  of 
the  Homestead  Law  it  would  have  done 
enough.  By  assuring  a  system  of  small  farms, 
even  before  the  issue  of  slavery  was  deter 
mined  on  the  battle-fields,  —  was  determined 
by  blood,  —  freedom  was  secured  to  the  entire 
domain  by  law.  Nearly  half  the  area  of  the 
country,  1,400,000,000  acres,  came  under  the 
mantle  of  this  statute's  protection.  It  laid  for 
ever  the  ghost  of  States'  individual  rights  to 
the  domain,  reinforcing  federal  authority  in  a 
way  which  could  not  be  gainsaid.  To  those 
pioneers,  from  the  first  heroic  wave  to  the  later 
sturdy  tide  which  had  crept  across  the  country 
and  dotted  settlements  like  specks  on  the  edge 
of  the  map,  the  act  assured  permanent  foot 
hold.  It  offered  the  great  heart  of  America  to 
the  newcomer  if  he  cared  to  become  one  of  us. 
It  inaugurated  the  third  great  period  of  land 
legislation. 

In  this,  as  in  every  other  difficult  problem  of 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  263 

legislation,  Grow  found  Lincoln  a  wise  and 
careful  adviser.  They  were  frequently  in  con 
sultation,  mainly  concerning  war  matters. 
Seen  from  a  congressional  angle,  the  war  was 
a  question  chiefly  of  raising  hundreds  of  mil 
lions  of  revenue,  of  passing  measures  of  expe 
diency,  and  of  putting  through  such  acts  for 
the  good  of  the  nation  as  would  tend  to  stabil 
ize  conditions,  including  measures  to  secure 
the  freedom  of  all  persons  within  the  Terri 
tories;  to  prevent  the  army  from  catching 
slaves;  to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia;  to  punish  frauds  by  officers  mak 
ing  contracts  for  the  Government;  to  punish 
treason;  to  confiscate  property;  and  to  grant 
amnesty.  Treatment  of  open  wounds,  these 
measures,  although  not  long  in  passing,  caused 
the  war  to  be  fought  over  again  upon  the  floor, 
and  Lincoln's  counsel  was  invaluable. 

He  never  rubbed  Congress  the  wrong  way.  He 
was  masterful  in  diplomacy  as  in  politics,  and  with 
the  aid  of  this  quality  he  brought  members  to  see 
his  way  who  the  day  before  were  looking  in  the 
opposite  direction  [wrote  Grow];  a  power  he  pos 
sessed  beyond  any  man  who  has  appeared  in  our 
public  life  and  which  was  absolutely  essential  to 
his  trying  position.  I  often  wondered  what  would 
have  happened  if  Seward  had  beaten  him  in  the 


264  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

convention.  Seward  was  one  of  the  wisest  men  in 
his  generation,  but  Seward  never  understood  the 
art  of  wise  selection  and  handling  of  men.  It  is 
a  question  if  he  could  have  kept  such  a  cabinet 
as  Lincoln  selected  in  harness  two  weeks  without 
broken  traces,  cracked  whiffletrees,  and  a  general 
smash-up.  But  those  on  the  ground  knew  how 
Lincoln  managed  them  and  made  them  do  great 
work,  although  Chase  and  Cameron  and  later 
Stanton  tried  his  masterful  patience  almost  to  the 
parting  of  the  ways,  and  did  it  many  times  in  the 
very  days  when  he  most  needed  their  loyal  sym 
pathy  and  help.  To  work  with  them  and  through 
them  and  get  the  best  out  of  them  was  much  - 
far  more  than  it  was  in  Seward  to  have  done. 

Grow  at  the  time  approved  strongly  of 
Seward's  management  of  the  Trent  affair,  al 
though  it  put  the  House,  which  had  promptly 
voted  thanks  to  Captain  Wilkes,  in  a  some 
what  unenviable  position.  He  always  felt  that 
it  was  to  Seward's  lasting  credit  to  disown  an 
act  contrary  to  law,  especially  as  he  thereby 
avoided  war  with  Great  Britain.  He  was  in 
this  instance  as  outspoken  in  his  approval  as 
with  Cameron  he  was  in  making  no  bones  of  his 
disapproval. 

Cameron  in  the  mean  time  had  resigned. 

No  one  who  knew  Simon  Cameron  well  [wrote 
Grow]  could  doubt  his  patriotism  and  loyalty  to 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  265 

the  Administration,  but  it  was  evident  from  the 
first  that  he  was  not  the  right  man  for  the  great 
task  of  carrying  on  the  fiercest  civil  conflict  of  all 
time.  No  one  knew  this  better  than  he  and  he 
finally  laid  down  the  burden  of  his  difficult  posi 
tion. 

If  Cameron  knew,  he  was  still  very  proud,  for 
he  cherished  deep  hurt  against  those  who  had 
felt  it  kindest  to  tell  him  the  truth.  He  went 
home  with  animus  against  all  who  opposed 
him,  a  condition  of  the  highest  importance  to 
the  Speaker,  since  Cameron  was  head  man  in 
Pennsylvania  politics  for  many  years  after. 

That  very  year  (1861),  really  but  a  short 
time  after  his  letter,  Grow  found  himself  con 
fronted  by  a  new  condition  in  his  district.  A 
reapportionment  under  the  Census  of  1860  ob 
tained,  and  a  new  district  had  been  formed 
by  the  powers  which  controlled  the  State, 
taking  away  the  Republican  counties  of  Brad 
ford  and  Tioga  and  linking  Luzerne  to  Susque- 
hanna.  The  object  of  the  men  in  power  was 
obvious;  it  meant  that  they  could  control  the 
election  by  transforming  the  district  into  a 
Democratic  stronghold;  and  this  they  did,  to 
the  effect  that  Grow  was  not  elected  again.  It 
was  an  arbitrary  and  unjust  political  act, 
plainly  revengeful. 


266  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Although  he  was  facing  the  end  of  his  period 
in  Washington  and  was  in  wretched  health, 
his  last  year  was  by  no  means  dull.  His  house 
was  a  place  where  many  congenial  people  met 
and  over  which  Mrs.  Frederick  Grow  presided 
acceptably.  One  of  his  pleasures  to  the  end 
of  his  life  was  his  friendship  with  John  Hay, 
begun  then. 

While  visiting  Lincoln  one  evening  [Grow  nar 
rates  in  a  note],  I  met  his  young  private  secretary, 
John  Hay,  who  afterwards  brought  me  personal 
communications  from  the  White  House.  In  time 
we  became  good  friends,  and  in  those  early  days 
I  used  to  say  to  my  political  colleagues,  "Young 
Hay,  if  he  lives,  will  become  a  very  useful  public 
servant,  for  he  has  the  highest  and  best  views  of 
public  life  I  ever  heard  expressed  by  one  so  young, 
and  he  also  has  a  personality  which  will  be  of  the 
greatest  service  to  him  in  his  career." 

John  Hay  often  spent  an  evening  at  Grow's 
house,  and  no  one  was  more  welcome  or  more 
entertaining. 

I  remember  during  my  Speakership  giving  a 
reception  at  which  the  Diplomatic  Corps  were 
largely  represented  and  young  Hay  took  charge  of 
the  details  and  helped  to  make  the  entertainment 
a  brilliant  success.  Lincoln  was  very  much  at 
tached  to  him,  and  often  spoke  to  me  in  high  terms 
of  his  ability  and  trustworthiness.  I  know  of  no 


THE  SPEAKERSH1P  267 

person  in  whom  the  great  President  reposed  more 
confidence  and  to  whom  he  confided  secrets  of 
State  as  well  as  his  own  personal  affairs  with  such 
great  freedom. 

During  this  time,  with  over  half  a  million 
men  under  arms  on  land  and  sea,  and  the 
Southern  forces  giving  the  army  plenty  to 
think  about,  Lincoln's  faith  was  uplifting. 
Grow  records :  — 

I  spent  many  hours  with  the  President  during 
the  darkest  days  of  the  war.  He  remained  always 
the  same  fearless,  brave  man  whose  personality 
and  calm,  patient  spirit  were  incomparable.  I  was 
with  him  often  when  he  was  receiving  news  of  some 
great  battle,  and  whether  our  side  won  or  lost  his 
great  heart  seemed  to  shudder  at  the  slaughter  of 
soldiers. 

Big  events  pressed  hard  upon  one  another's 
heels  in  1862  and  1863. 

As  I  recall  those  hours,  spent  with  our  greatest 
President,  "  who  stood  alone,  no  ancestors,  no  fel 
lows,  no  successors"  [said  Grow],  I  know  why  "a 
remembering  world  will  never  forget  that  on  his 
sad  and  tragic  face  was  deeply  graved  the  divine 
patience  of  destiny.  He  spoke  at  times  as  no 
man  spoke  except  the  lowly  Nazarene,  and  he 
clothed  his  words  with  justice  and  mercy." 

Always  simple,  even  in  his  joking  moods  never 
undignified,  he  made  me  feel  completely  at  home 
in  his  presence.  With  such  a  beginning  as  he  had 


268  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

to  reach  the  heights  that  he  did  was  miraculous. 
Born  in  a  pitiful  hovel,  surrounded  by  squalor  and 
want,  he  became  the  mightiest  personality  of  his 
day  —  homely  in  body  and  divine  in  spirit. 

Interested  always  in  the  international  as 
pects  of  the  war,  when  the  Russian  fleet  mys 
teriously  visited  American  shores  under  sealed 
orders  in  1863  Grow  insisted  that  the  battle 
ships  had  not  come  here,  as  the  press  said  and 
the  people  believed,  simply  from  friendship  to 
the  United  States.  He  said:  — 

The  fleet  has  come  because  Russia's  great  com 
mercial  interests  are  at  stake.  She  has  come  be 
cause  she  is  unwilling  to  have  France  and  England 
take  advantage  of  our  involved  position  and  thus 
in  the  end  obtain  immense  commercial  vantage- 
ground.  She  is  strictly  looking  after  the  interests 
of  Russia. 

In  this  position  he  found  few  sympathizers 
at  the  time,  but  it  is  interesting  to  note  that 
in  1894  Wharton  Barker,  who  was  Grow's 
friend,  gave  an  explanation  of  the  incident 
which  bore  out  his  early  sagacious  judgment. 
The  Czar,  with  whose  confidence  Mr.  Barker 
had  been  honored,  had  observed  to  him :  - 

In  the  autumn  of  1862  the  Governments  of 
France  and  Great  Britain  proposed  to  Russia,  in  a 
formal  but  not  an  official  way,  the  joint  recognition 


THE  SPEAKERSHIP  269 

by  European  powers  of  the  independence  of  the 
Confederate  States  of  America.  My  immediate 
answer  was,  "  I  will  accept  the  recognition  of  the 
independence  of  the  Confederate  States  as  a  casus 
belli  for  Russia.  And,  in  order  that  the  Govern 
ments  of  Great  Britain  and  France  may  under 
stand  that  this  is  no  idle  threat,  I  will  send  a 
Pacific  fleet  to  San  Francisco  and  an  Atlantic  fleet 
to  New  York/'  They  were  sent  out  and  sealed 
orders  given  to  both  admirals. 

All  of  this  I  did  for  the  love  of  my  own  dear 
Russia  rather  than  for  the  love  of  the  American 
Republic.  I  acted  thus  because  I  understood  that 
Russia  would  have  a  more  serious  task  to  perform 
if  the  American  Republic,  with  advanced  industrial 
development,  were  broken  up  and  Great  Britain 
should  be  left  in  control  of  most  branches  of  mod 
ern  industrial  development. 

Throughout  these  turbulent  times  there  is 
every  evidence  that  Grow  filled  his  difficult 
place  as  Speaker  with  tact  and  a  remarkable 
sense  of  fairness.  Courage,  as  well  as  patience 
of  the  highest  class,  was  required.  He  was  cool 
and  he  was  absolutely  at  home  in  construing 
the  rules.  The  executive  of  the  House  of 
Representatives  who  administers  that  great 
office  under  normal  conditions  must  be  wise 
and  efficient;  but  while  the  most  fearful  civil 
war  known  to  history  was  raging  and  the  life 
of  the  nation  hung  in  the  balance,  to  have  pre- 


270  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

sided  so  satisfactorily  that  no  appeal  was  ever 
made  from  his  decisions  from  the  first  to  the 
final  day  of  three  busy  sessions  was  a  feat  that 
proved  Grow's  statesmanlike  metal.  By  our 
system  immense  power  rested  then  with  the 
Speaker.  Unless  otherwise  determined  by  the 
House,  the  Speaker,  appointing  all  the  com 
mittees, --which  have  control  of  the  life  or 
early  death  of  each  measure,  —  had  not  a  little 
to  say  about  the  chances  of  any  bill.  The  place 
demanded  mental  and  physical  force  such  as  is 
found  only  in  rare  men. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  point  to  any  other 
instance  where  a  youth  untrained  in  the  art 
of  government  passed  with  such  phenomenal 
strides  from  chore  boy  on  a  farm  in  the  back 
woods  to  the  desk  and  gavel  of  one  of  the  most 
powerful  of  legislative  bodies.  No  Speaker  we 
have  had  save  Clay,  of  the  number  now  near- 
ing  forty,  was  younger  in  point  of  years,  and 
it  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  to  merit  a  unani 
mous  vote  of  thanks  upon  retirement,  a  mark 
of  approbation  for  his  unfailing  courtesy  and 
skill  which  was  most  heartily  given  to  Galusha 
A.  Grow. 


CHAPTER  XV 

RIPE  YEARS   AND   A   RETURN   TO   ACTION 

THROUGH  the  twelve  absorbing  years  of  his 
first  period  in  Congress  Grow  had  proved  him 
self  a  leader,  but  although  he  had  won  a  great 
name  he  faced  a  difficult  political  predicament 
because  he  was  not  content,  as  were  so  many 
able  and  public-spirited  men  of  that  day,  to 
take  orders  from  unofficial  managers.  He  was 
known  not  to  be  malleable  in  the  organization. 
He  had  always  been  successful  in  spite  of  this; 
now  he  was  to  meet  a  long  period  of  frus 
tration.  When  Congress  adjourned  in  March, 
1863,  he  returned  to  Glenwood  in  exceedingly 
bad  health  and  sent  a  substitute  to  the  field 
until  he  should  be  physically  acceptable  or  re 
called  to  legislative  duties. 

He  found  his  mother  in  extremely  delicate 
health  and  arranging  her  affairs,  a  business  in 
which  she  showed  still  that  dominant  spirit 
and  good  judgment  which  were  her  first  char 
acteristics.  The  joint  property  was  to  be  di 
vided  and  there  was  some  disagreement  as  to 
portions.  Samuel  had  already  had  and  lost 


272  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

what  Frederick  considered  a  full  share,  but 
Mrs.  Grow  was  determined  to  give  him  some 
thing  in  addition.  It  was  with  Samuel  and  his 
"smart"  (capable)  wife  that  she  had  always 
chosen  to  live  on  the  old  farmstead. 

Galusha  felt  that  the  matter  lay  entirely 
with  his  mother  and  stood  by  her,  but  Fred 
erick  insisted  that  if  Mrs.  Grow  still  wanted 
to  do  something  for  "Sammy,"  it  would  be 
well  to  put  the  money  in  trust  or  keep  it  in 
vested  so  that  he  could  not  lose  it. 

Samuel  and  his  wife  finally  went  to  the  room 
where  Mrs.  Grow  was  confined  to  tell  her 
proudly  that  either  they  wanted  the  money 
without  obligation,  to  manage  themselves,  or 
they  did  not  want  it  at  all.  The  mother  ad 
mired  their  spirit  and  disposed  her  estate  with 
out  reference  to  her  eldest  son's  wishes,  with 
the  result  that  he  flung  out  of  the  house  and 
was  absent  several  days.  Mrs.  Grow  was  just 
able  to  be  downstairs  again,  and  was  sitting 
on  the  little  step  between  the  two  rooms  which 
served  as  the  chief  stage  of  family  action,  when 
Frederick  returned.  He  strode  in,  straight  past 
the  family,  to  his  mother  and  took  her  in  his 
arms  and  kissed  her.  It  was  reconciliation; 
both  their  eyes  were  full  of  tears.  To  "Boy 


RIPE  YEARS  273 

Galusha,"  as  Mrs.  Grow  still  called  him,  this 
ending  of  strife  meant  much.  He  was  glad  to 
have  her  to  the  last  as  she  always  had  been,  a 
masterful  woman,  captain  of  them  all.  j 

After  she  died  he  tried  going  out  into  his 
friendly  mountains  surveying  again,  but  his 
health  did  not  improve  as  it  should.  Able  to 
supervise  work,  in  1864  and  1865  he  was  en 
gaged  part  of  the  time  in  the  lumber  trade  at 
Newton  in  Luzerne  County.  He  was  appointed 
delegate  to  the  National  Republican  Conven 
tions  in  1864  and  1868,  and  was  chairman 
of  the  State  Convention;  but  reelection  as  a 
Representative  did  not  come  to  him.  Cameron, 
still  dominant,  was  irrevocably  against  him. 

He  devoted  himself  during  the  years  1866 
and  1867  to  the  development  of  oil  properties 
in  Venango  County,  and  his  health  not  greatly 
improving,  he  went  West  in  1871,  making  the 
journey,  somewhat  uncommon  in  those  days, 
from  California  up  through  Washington  to 
Victoria  in  British  Columbia.  He  went  to 
Texas  in  the  autumn  of  that  year  to  assume  the 
presidency  of  the  Houston  and  Great  North 
ern  Railway  Company,  a  post  which  he  held 
four  years,  during  which  time  the  railroad 
was  extended  several  hundred  miles. 


274  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

During  his  life  in  Texas  he  eschewed  poli 
tics  except  that,  being  an  admirer  of  Horace 
Greeley  and  not  approving  of  President  Grant's 
Administration  so  far  as  it  related  to  the 
South,  he  gave  Greeley  his  moral  but  not  his 
active  support.  He  did  not  approve  of  the  way 
Greeley  had  linked  his  fortunes  with  his  old- 
time  foe,  the  Democracy. 

Grow's  fight  with  the  organization  was  re 
sumed  upon  his  return  to  Pennsylvania.  Al 
ready  they  had  defeated  him  twice  for  Con 
gress,  but  in  spite  of  the  treatment  he  had 
received  from  the  party  he  consistently  served 
it,  zealously  working  for  Hartranft  for  Gover 
nor.  In  1878  the  delegates  from  a  majority  of 
the  Republican  counties  of  the  State  were  sent 
to  Harrisburg  by  the  people  with  the  under 
standing  that  they  were  to  nominate  Grow 
for  Governor,  but  once  more  the  organization 
set  its  influence  against  him.  He  refused  the 
Lieutenant-Governorship  which  the  organiza 
tion  offered  him,  but  with  characteristic  good 
feeling,  took  the  stump  for  Hoyt  and  deliv 
ered  a  speech  at  Oil  City  which  was  celebrated 
in  the  campaign  as  the  most  masterly  analysis 
of  "  Greenbackism  "  ever  uttered. 

President  Hayes  tendered  him  the  Russian 


RIPE  YEARS  275 

Mission,  but  he  refused  it,  informing  the  Chief 
Magistrate  that  he  had  decided  in  young  man 
hood  never  to  accept  any  place  not  elective. 
In  1881  the  members  of  the  State  Legislature 
from  over  two  thirds  of  the  Republican  coun 
ties  were  sent  to  Harrisburg  with  instructions 
to  elect  Grow  to  the  Senate.  Pennsylvania 
politics  in  these  years  were  growing  worse 
instead  of  better,  however,  and  there  was  a 
long,  bitter  struggle  again  ending  in  Grow's 
defeat.  Several  of  the  members  were  burned 
in  effigy  for  their  disloyalty  to  the  expressed 
wishes  of  their  constituents.  This  political  mis 
fortune,  although  Grow  regarded  it  better  to 
be  honored  by  defeat  than  dishonored  by  com 
promise,  demanded  fortitude  in  the  face  of 
the  ease  which  had  marked  his  earlier  cam 
paigns  and  the  honors  which  had  been  accorded 
him  by  the  whole  nation. 

He  knew  that  he  was  practically  helpless 
against  an  unseen  host.  Nearly  sixty  years  old, 
and  believing  that  it  was  futile  to  reenter  pub 
lic  life,  he  confined  himself  to  business,  but 
continued  to  take  an  active  part  in  promoting 
the  interests  of  the  party  he  had  helped  to 
create.  He  was  consulted  about  the  appoint 
ments  in  his  district,  and  was  sent  as  delegate 


276  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

to  the  National  Convention  in  1884;  but  his 
time  went,  in  the  main,  into  the  development 
of  a  soft-coal  mine  at  Brady's  Bend  on  the 
Allegheny  River.  He  found  much  pleasure  in 
the  spacious  home  which  he  had  built  in  a 
most  sightly  spot  after  his  return  from  Texas. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Frederick  Grow  lived  with  him 
and  his  friends  were  most  hospitably  enter 
tained  there.  He  never  dropped  his  Washing 
ton  acquaintance,  and  in  these  years  he  used 
occasionally  to  go  to  Brook  Farm  with  Garri 
son  or  Hale.  His  lines  fell  in  pleasant  places. 
Not  long  before  the  election  of  1884,  when 
James  G.  Blaine  was  candidate  for  the  Presi 
dency,  he  told  Grow  and  Reuben  Fenton,  who 
were  with  him,  that  his  friends  wanted  to  give 
him  a  dinner  in  New  York.  Both  Fenton  and 
Grow  knew  that  this  dinner  would  be  attended 
largely  by  men  who  exercised  great  corporate 
power  and  possessed  vast  wealth,  and  that 
the  opposition  would  seize  upon  the  occasion 
to  awaken  labor  interests  against  him.  Both  of 
them,  being  much  interested  in  saving  Blaine 
from  possible  blunders,  warmly  and  saga 
ciously  urged  him  to  decline,  as  well  as  to  keep 
away  from  New  York  City  during  the  rest 
of  the  campaign.  Said  Grow:  — 


RIPE  YEARS  277 

Blaine  did  not  agree  with  our  views,  and  ac 
cepted  the  invitation.  The  dinner  project  was 
dangerous  enough,  but  a  new  and  unexpected 
menace  appeared  which  neither  Fenton  nor  I  had 
foreseen.  While  stopping  at  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel  a  delegation  of  ministers  called  upon  Blaine, 
and  their  spokesman,  Dr.  Burchard,  said  that 
the  Democratic  Party  was  the  party  of  "Rum, 
Romanism,  and  Rebellion."  Blaine  winced  at  the 
alliteration,  but  for  some  strange  reason  he  left 
the  stupid  observation  unrebuked.  It  was  claimed 
by  George  William  Curtis  and  Carl  Schurz,  the 
leaders  of  the  Independents,  that  Blaine  would 
have  been  beaten  if  the  incident  had  not  occurred, 
but  those  in  close  touch  with  the  true  condition  of 
the  electorate  a  week  prior  to  this  were  convinced 
that  the  three  R's  caused  Blaine's  defeat. 

It  was  now  more  than  twenty  years  since 
the  Homestead  Act  had  gone  into  effect.  Grat 
ifying  direct  testimony  of  those  who  had 
taken  up  land  frequently  reached  Mr.  Grow. 
About  this  time  he  received  the  following  let 
ter,  which,  fifteen  years  later,  was  to  have  an 
unexpected  sequel:  — 

BEATRICE,  GAGE  COUNTY,  NEB., 
December  29,  1886. 

HONORABLE  GALUSHA  A.  GROW. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  To-day  I  send  you  by  express  a 
cane  cut  from  the  N.W.  \  section  26  north,  Range 
5  east,  near  Beatrice,  Gage  County,  Nebraska. 


278  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

Said  land  was  taken  by  me  at  the  U.S.  Land  Office, 
Brownsville,  under  the  Homestead  Act  of  May 
20th,  1862,  about  12.30  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 
January  1st,  1863,  and  I  have  resided  on  it  ever 
since. 

My  application  for  said  patent  was  No.  1,  my 
proof  of  residence  No.  1,  and  the  patent  is  recorded 
on  Page  1,  Volume  1,  of  the  records  at  Washington. 
Hence  this  cane  sent  you  was  grown  upon  the  land 
first  taken  under  the  said  Homestead  Act. 

Knowing  well  that  the  zealous  and  able  efforts 
put  forth  by  you  to  secure  the  passage  of  said  act 
justly  entitle  you  to  be  considered  its  father;  and 
realizing  that  the  said  act  is  the  greatest  that  has 
ever  been  passed  by  Congress,  I  feel  that  I,  as  one 
of  its  beneficiaries,  am  not  overstepping  the  rules 
of  propriety  in  presenting  you  with  this  simple 
token  of  my  gratitude  and  appreciation.  Begging 
you  to  accept  this  simple  Homesteader's  gift,  I  am, 
most  respectfully, 

Yours, 

DANIEL  FREEMAN. 

Such  letters  showed  that  Mr.  Grow,  if  out 
of  public  affairs,  was  by  no  means  forgotten, 
and  his  return  to  the  stage  of  national  life  was 
certainly  long  overdue. 

He  had  entered  the  third  period  of  his  life 
when  the  nation  again  accorded  him  deserved 
and  acceptable  recognition.  The  first  occasion 
was  that  of  Pennsylvania's  presentation  in  the 
House  (January  21,  1892)  of  the  portraits  of 


RIPE  YEARS  279 

two  of  her  sons,  Grow  and  Randall,  who  had 
reached  the  Speakership.  Grow  was  invited 
to  be  present  on  that  day  and  the  Speaker  pro 
tempore,  Mr.  Milliken,  invited  him  to  occupy 
the  Chair. 

As  the  dignified  ex-Speaker  arose  and  passed 
down  the  center  aisle,  erect  and  lithe  as  an 
Indian,  he  looked  altogether  what  he  was,  a 
fine  old  gentleman.  He  received  an  ovation 
which  might  well  have  roused  pride  in  the  heart 
of  any  man,  not  ending  until  he  took  his  place 
at  the  Speaker's  desk.  It  recurred  when  W.  S. 
Holman,  accepting  the  portraits  in  behalf  of 
the  House,  paid  him  tribute  of  which  this  was 
a  part:  "Mr.  Grow  as  a  legislator  is  most 
famous  as  one  of  the  first  if  not  the  first  cham 
pion  of  the  homestead  policy  of  disposing  of 
the  public  lands,  the  most  beneficent  measure 
ever  enacted  by  Congress." 

The  following  year  William  Lilly,  Congress- 
man-at-Large  from  Pennsylvania,  died.  Grow 
came  out  as  a  candidate.  Through  the  accident 
of  Quay  being  in  Florida  tarpon  fishing,  the 
organization  did  not  promptly  give  orders  to 
crush  him  and  the  announcement  received 
such  state-wide  enthusiasm  that  the  party  fell 
into  line.  The  majority  of  181,000  which  he 


£80  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

received  at  the  polls  in  1894  demonstrated  how 
gladly  the  people  of  Pennsylvania  welcomed 
him  back  to  public  service.  The  nation  had 
too  long  been  deprived  of  a  wise  counselor  and 
statesman. 

When  he  reentered  Congress  after  an  ab 
sence  of  thirty-one  years  he  was  to  nearly 
every  member  of  that  body  only  a  faint  mem 
ory.  But  he  retained  a  vivid  interest  in  affairs 
which  kept  him  young,  and  a  happy  discovery 
freed  him  at  last  from  the  worst  part  of  a  per 
sistent  ill  health.  He  at  once  became  a  noted 
and  interesting  figure  in  the  House,  where 
every  possible  consideration  was  shown  him. 
He  was  allowed  to  choose  the  seat  most  agree 
able  to  him  —  and  strange  to  say  he  found  sit 
ting  beside  him  the  only  colored  member  from 
the  South,  a  man  who  had  been  a  slave.  Owing 
to  his  advanced  age,  Reed,  then  Speaker,  ap 
pointed  him  chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Education,  where  the  work  was  not  onerous, 
but  of  an  important  nature. 

During  the  next  three  terms  he  was  renom- 
inated  without  opposition,  the  majorities  con 
tinually  increasing,  £46,462,  £67,446,  £7£,409 
-  the  largest  majorities  ever  given  any  state 
candidates  at  any  time.    Thenceforward  he 


RIPE   YEARS  281 

was  affectionately  called  "Great-Majority 
Grow." 

The  House  recognized  him  as  one  of  the 
ablest  exponents  of  the  basic  principles  of  the 
party,  especially  of  sound  money  and  protec 
tion,  and  careful  attention  was  given  to  what 
he  said  because  of  his  good  judgment  and  fore 
sight.  He  attended  even  protracted  night  ses 
sions.  R.  R.  Hitt,  of  Illinois,  for  many  years 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Rela 
tions,  in  speaking  of  Grow  during  his  last  term 
in  Congress  when  he  was  nearinghis  eightieth 
year,  said,  "He  is  our  oracle  and  we  go  to  him 
freely  for  advice.  In  the  caucus,  on  the  floor, 
and  in  the  committee  room  he  is  always  in 
demand.  There  is  more  horse  sense  in  him 
than  in  any  man  I  ever  knew." 

In  this  later  term  of  service  his  old  interest 
in  territorial  expansion  had  much  to  feed  upon. 
He  spoke  on  the  Hawaiian  policy  of  the  Gov 
ernment.  When  he  rose  in  1900  to  repeat  his 
maiden  speech  on  "Man's  Right  to  the  Soil," 
made  forty-eight  years  before,  he  was  greatly 
applauded.  It  was  proposed  to  put  under  the 
Homestead  Act  all  Indian  lands  acquired  by 
treaty  since  1890.  In  that  year  Holman,  of 
Indiana,  had  inaugurated  a  new  policy  by 


282  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

which  settlers  paid  a  fixed  price  per  acre  for 
such  land,  in  some  cases  running  to  three  dol 
lars  and  seventy-five  cents.  Grow  believed 
that  it  was  still  better  policy  for  the  Govern 
ment  to  give  the  land  to  the  present-day  home- 
seeker,  who  is  also  a  pioneer  —  although  some 
removes  from  the  early  type.  He  urged  that 
we  had  still  not  outgrown  our  need  to  settle  the 
wilderness  with  individual  homes,  and  that  it 
should  not  be  a  question  of  whether  the  Gov 
ernment  made  or  lost  money  directly  by  the 
transaction.  The  principle  was  the  same  as  it 
had  been  in  the  beginning;  the  ideal  of  land  for 
every  individual  who  would  give  his  labor  and 
love  to  it  was  still  worthy,  and  all  the  more 
necessary  since  we  had  wastef  ully  lavished  land 
without  requiring  proper  settlement. 

The  land  cry  rang  out  again.  It  was  remark 
able  to  hear  the  aged  champion  of  "Free 
Homes  for  Free  Men,"  after  an  interim  of 
nearly  fifty  years  since  his  first  speech,  again 
exhorting  Congress  to  uphold  the  homestead 
policy. 

When  the  time  came  for  him  to  retire  in  1903 
the  members  of  the  Fifty-seventh  Congress 
unanimously  adopted  resolutions  expressing 
their  appreciation  of  his  value  and  their  regret 


RIPE   YEARS  283 

that  he  should  leave  them.  At  home,  too,  it 
was  felt  that  some  signal  attention  should  be 
paid  to  the  end  of  his  public  service.  All  the 
people  of  the  countryside  determined  that  he 
should  have  a  memorable  welcome  on  his  re 
turn  home.  On  the  day  he  came  from  Wash 
ington  eight  thousand  people  crowded  the  roads 
that  led  to  Montrose,  the  county  seat,  and  both 
the  preparations  and  the  celebration  itself 
were  such  as  we  seldom  see  in  this  country, 
reminiscent  of  the  honors  that  a  German  com 
munity  pays  to  its  dignitary  —  say  a  Gross- 
Herzog  —  upon  home-coming. 

When  Grow  arrived  at  the  station  the  first 
person  to  grasp  his  hand  was  Freeman,  from 
Nebraska,  the  first  Homesteader!  His  pres 
ence  furnished  a  novel  incident  which  roused 
great  enthusiasm.  As  they  entered  the  first 
carriage  they  were  given  three  cheers  and  a 
continuous  ovation  greeted  them  all  along  the 
gayly  decorated  route  to  the  Fair  grounds. 
From  the  steps  of  the  court  house,  where  he 
had  been  admitted  to  the  bar  fifty  years  before, 
Grow,  with  Freeman  by  his  side,  reviewed  the 
parade.  At  the  Fair  grounds  there  were  ad 
dresses,  special  songs  adapted  to  the  occasion, 
two  sets  of  artistically  engrossed  resolutions 


284  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

were  presented,  and  letters  and  telegrams  were 
read. 

Freeman  told  how  he  came  to  secure  the 
first  homestead. 

I  was  stationed  at  Brownsville,  Nebraska,  as  a 
young  soldier  to  do  some  secret  service  work.  The 
town  was  the  seat  of  a  government  land  office  and 
the  place  was  filled  with  prospective  settlers  who 
were  waiting  for  the  1st  of  February,  when  the 
Grow  homestead  law  was  to  become  operative. 
I  had,  in  my  several  details,  seen  a  good  deal  of 
Nebraska.  I  liked  the  soil  of  Gage  County,  so  I 
staked  my  claim  near  Beatrice,  and  waited  anx 
iously  for  the  time  when  I  could  make  my  filing  at 
the  government  office. 

The  fates  seemed  against  me,  I  was  ordered  to 
St.  Louis  and  had  to  leave  early  January  1st,  the 
day  the  Homestead  Law  went  into  effect.  On  the 
night  of  December  31st,  the  prospective  settlers 
had  a  dance.  I  sought  out  the  assistant  registrar 
of  the  land  office,  who  was  in  the  ballroom,  and 
urged  him  to  let  me  file  my  claim  at  midnight,  so 
I  could  leave  for  St.  Louis  early  next  morning.  He 
agreed  to  this  and  we  went  to  the  office  where  the 
preliminary  papers  were  made  out.  Before  one 
o'clock  Homestead  Entry  No.  1  was  signed  and  I 
went  away  to  St.  Louis  a  happy  lad. 

At  the  expiration  of  my  service  in  1865,  I  re 
turned  to  Nebraska,  built  a  log  cabin  and  married 
the  young  woman  who  owned  the  adjoining  claim. 
We  lived  happily  on  this  property  for  fifty  years. 
[And  turning  to  Mr.  Grow  he  went  on:]  And  to 


RIPE   YEARS  285 

you,  sir,  we  owe  much  of  our  happiness  and  pros 
perity. 

The  cheers  were  deafening.  The  whole  occa 
sion  was  marked  by  a  charming  good  feeling, 
warm  affection,  pride,  and  patriotism.  Among 
the  letters  was  one  from  President  Roosevelt 
in  which  he  expressed  regret  that  he  could  not 
be  present.  He  spoke  of  Grow's  introduction 
of  the  Homestead  Bill  which  had  served  us 
so  well,  and  congratulated  his  Pennsylvania 
neighbors  that  "in  public  and  private  life 
alike  Speaker  Grow  has  shown  those  quali 
ties  of  which  we  are  most  proud  in  our  citi 


zens." 


From  the  Commissioner-General  of  the  Land 
Office  came  an  interesting  contribution  giving 
the  figures  which  showed  how  the  statute  had 
worked.  During  that  fiscal  year,  ending  June 
30,  1901,  63,343  entries  had  been  made,  em 
bracing  an  area  of  8,234,590  acres,  or  a  greater 
number  and  a  larger  area  of  land  than  for  any 
previous  year  since  the  enactment  of  the  law. 
The  total  for  thirty-nine  years  was  636,998  en 
tries,  covering  an  area  of  85,344,956.38  acres. 

The  letter  which  meant  most  of  all  to  Mr. 
Grow  was  John  Hay's,  addressed  to  a  member 
of  the  Home  Welcome  Committee :  — 


286  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
WASHINGTON,  April  14,  1903. 

DEAR  SIR:  — 

We  have  received  your  esteemed  letter  of  the 
27th  of  March,  in  which  you  invite  me  to  be  present 
at  the  "Welcome  Home"  which  Susquehanna  is 
preparing  for  her  honored  and  illustrious  son  the 
Hon.  Galusha  A.  Grow. 

I  regret  extremely  that  the  pressure  of  many 
exacting  engagements  will  not  permit  me  to  be 
present  and  bring  the  tribute  of  my  profound  re 
spect  and  affection  to  the  beloved  and  eminent 
statesman  whose  return  to  his  home  you  are  about 
to  celebrate. 

Mr.  Grow  has  lived  in  a  great  time  and  has 
borne  his  part  nobly  in  the  momentous  events 
which  have  fulfilled  the  long  space  of  his  political 
activity.  But  the  one  achievement  which  will  make 
his  name  memorable  among  those  of  the  benefac 
tors  of  his  kind  is  the  Homestead  Law.  An  act  like 
this  transcends  all  considerations  of  political  and 
economic  success,  and  appeals  to  the  heart  and  the 
sentiment  of  all  people.  A  man  who  has  contrib 
uted,  as  Galusha  Grow  has,  to  the  lasting  welfare 
of  millions  is  entitled  to  the  gratitude  not  only  of 
his  country  but  of  the  world. 

Yours  sincerely, 

JOHN  HAY. 

Mr.  Crow's  acknowledgment  of  these  hon 
ors  was  deep-felt,  and  given  with  the  simple 
dignity,  the  love  for  his  neighbor,  the  friendli 
ness  and  winning  address  which  endeared  him 


RIPE  YEARS  287 

to  all  —  which,  indeed,  gave  to  his  life  the 
quality  of  a  hearthstone  tale. 

The  memory  of  that  homage  was  a  source 
of  pleasure  during  the  next  four  years,  which 
Mr.  Grow  passed  quietly  at  his  home  in  Glen- 
wood,  in  the  valley  of  that  pretty  affluent  of 
the  masterful  Susquehanna,  the  Tunkhan- 
nock. 

Two  years  before  his  death,  Andrew  Carnegie, 
learning  that  Mr.  Grow  was  in  straitened  cir 
cumstances,  at  once  placed  him  on  his  private 
pension  list  with  a  generous  annual  allowance. 
When  thanked  by  a  friend  for  his  thoughtful 
consideration  of  the  venerable  ex-Speaker,  he 
said  simply  :- 

Don't  thank  me.  I  should  thank  you  for  giv 
ing  me  an  opportunity  to  show  my  appreciation  of 
Mr.  Grow's  worth  as  a  public  servant.  I  take  great 
pleasure  in  being  of  any  use  to  him  during  his  de 
clining  years.  He  has  done  a  great  work  for  man 
kind,  a  work  which  will  bless  the  ages,  and  he  de 
serves  to  spend  his  remaining  days  in  peace  and 
comfort.  By  his  statesmanship  and  intelligent 
efforts  he  saved  our  vast  territory  beyond  the 
Mississippi  River  for  the  landless  of  our  people 
and  thus  millions  of  free  homes  were  made  pos 
sible  to  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  This  work  alone 
entitles  him  to  the  gratitude  and  homage  of  all 
Americans  and  it  is  a  distinct  pleasure  to  feel  that 
I  have  been  able  to  befriend  him  in  any  way.  It  is 


288  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

vouchsafed  to  only  a  few  men  to  do  great  things 
to  bless  mankind  and  Mr.  Grow  was  one  of  this 
favored  group. 

Surrounded  by  comfort  made  possible  by 
Mr.  Carnegie's  kindness,  these  mellow  patri 
archal  years  were  spent  in  the  companionship 
of  well-loved  books  and  friends.  He  sat  often 
in  his  study  bedroom  before  the  open  fire  fed 
by  hickory  logs.  In  the  comfortable  chair  he 
had  used  for  thirty  years,  with  spectacles  he 
had  used  for  forty  years,  he  diligently  read  the 
"New  York  Tribune"  which  he  had  taken 
from  its  first  issue.  His  interest  in  current 
events  was  deep,  and  he  loved  the  comrades, 
few  but  intimate,  who  dwelt  in  his  small  wal 
nut  bookcase,  one  of  those  quaintly  contrived 
affairs  containing  a  pictorial  chart  of  civiliza 
tion.  Handles  on  either  side  served  to  wind  this 
chart  up,  and  history  was  most  ingeniously  de 
picted  thereon.  This  amused  him,  but  he  knew 
his  few  volumes  remarkably  well,  the  Bible, 
Shakespeare,  Gibbon,  Homer,  Plutarch,  the 
Orations  of  Demosthenes  and  Cicero,  and  the 
complete  works  of  Jefferson  and  Madison.  He 
could  look  out  from  his  windows  across  the 
gleaming  little  valley  to  which  he  had  seen 
steam  come,  with  all  its  entrained  wonders. 


MR.   GROW   AT  EIGHTY-THREE,   ON   HIS   VERANDA   AT 
GLENWOOD 


RIPE  YEARS  289 

Living  thus,  in  quiet  enjoyment,  old  age  did 
not  seem  to  grasp  him  until  a  few  days  before 
he  died  in  1907. 

A  retrospect  of  fifty  years  shows  that  his 
work  has  stood  the  test.  The  Homestead  Law 
stands  to-day  as  concentrated  wisdom  for  the 
settlement  of  the  domain.  A  few  days  after 
Mr.  Grow's  death  General  Nelson  A.  Miles 
said  that  when  he  represented  the  United 
States  at  the  coronation  of  the  present  Czar  of 
Russia  he  asked  His  Majesty  what  he  intended 
to  do  with  the  lands  of  Siberia  when  the  great 
railroad,  then  under  construction,  had  been 
completed. 

"We  intend,"  replied  His  Majesty,  "to  do 
with  it  what  your  great  statesman,  Mr.  Grow, 
did  with  the  public  domain  of  the  United 
States.  In  due  time  we  shall  give  it  to  the 
people,  because  we  are  convinced  that  the 
Homestead  Law  is  the  most  useful  enactment 
ever  placed  on  the  statute  books  of  nations." 

Up  to  June  30, 1913,  there  had  been  977,467 
entries,  which  took  up  in  all  137,855,709  acres; 
and  in  that  year  alone  ten  million  acres  had 
gone  to  satisfy  three  thousand  claims.  The 
total  amount  is  greater  than  any  other  item 


290  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

of  disposal  except  in  grants  to  the  States,  and 
there  remain  unsurveyed  and  unappropriated 
nearly  three  hundred  million  acres  exclusive  of 
the  lands  which  come  under  timber,  mineral, 
forest,  coal,  or  Indian  classifications.  To  this 
should  be  added  three  hundred  and  sixty- 
seven  million  acres  of  Alaskan  territory.  Alaska 
will  be  settled  under  the  Homestead  Act,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  recommends  that 
terms  be  made  easier.  Had  we  desisted  from 
grants  to  corporations  and  repealed  the  pre 
emption  laws  long  ago,  the  Homestead  Act 
would  have  been  still  more  valuable.  It  would 
have  conserved  us  the  domain  in  the  best  con 
dition,  and  provided  for  a  completely  natural 
development  without  exploitation  at  the  hands 
of  railroads  and  speculators.  As  it  is,  however, 
the  democratic  effect  has  been  amazingly  far- 
reaching. 

Industrially,  to  measure  the  effect  of  this 
act  by  agriculture,  the  backbone  of  our  life,  one 
has  only  to  recall  that  in  1850  a  little  grain 
was  sown  broadcast  and  threshed  to  the  "dull 
thunder  of  the  alternating  flail,"  while  to-day 
in  that  vast  territory  which  the  Homestead 
Law  gave  to  the  landless  is  to  be  found  the 
granary  of  the  world,  where  agricultural  ma- 


RIPE  YEARS  291 

chinery  is  doing  the  work  of  twenty  million 
men.  Hundreds  of  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat 
are  grown;  our  corn  crop  in  one  year  would 
cancel  the  interest-bearing  debt  of  the  country, 
pay  the  cost  of  the  Panama  Canal,  and  build  a 
fleet  of  battleships;  our  hay  crop  alone  would 
almost  cancel  the  national  debt;  our  dairy 
products  would  give  every  man,  woman,  and 
child  in  the  United  States  thirty  dollars  per 
capita;  while  the  total  farm  products  each 
year  would  provide  for  every  person  in  the 
country  over  ninety  dollars. 

When  Mr.  Grow  first  proclaimed  that  to  the 
tillers  of  the  soil  should  belong  the  soil,  there 
was  not  enough  money  in  circulation  to  get  up 
a  trust  in  the  peanut  crop,  and  the  country 
was  in  nearly  as  bad  condition  financially  as 
the  man  who  invested  all  his  fortune  in  a 
swampy  town  where  they  sold  lots  by  the  gal 
lon.  To-day,  while  most  of  the  European  na 
tions  "fill  up  their  inkstands  "  when  they  begin 
to  give^a  list  of  their  debts,  we  find  ourselves 
a  nation  of  industrial  and  agricultural  giants, 
possessing  an  aggregate  wealth  of  one  hundred 
and  sixty  thousand  millions  of  dollars,  pro 
ducing  eight  tenths  of  the  world's  cotton  and 
corn,  one  quarter  of  all  its  wheat,  two  fifths  of 


GALTJSHA  A.  GROW 

all  its  steel  and  iron,  one  third  of  all  its  coal, 
one  fourth  of  all  its  meat,  more  gold  and  silver 
than  any  other  country,  and  more  manufac 
tured  products  than  England,  France,  and 
Germany  combined. 

Economically  vital  to  us,  socially  it  is  cer 
tain  that  the  heart  of  the  nation  would  not  be 
the  same  if  this  law  had  not  been  passed.  We 
could  not  have  answered  the  prayer  of  the  vast 
yearning  land :  — 

"Bring  me  men  to  match  my  mountains, 
Bring  me  men  to  match  my  plains; 
Men  with  empires  in  their  purpose, 
And  new  eras  in  their  brains. 
Pioneers  to  clear  thoughts'  marshlands 
And  to  cleanse  old  Error's  fens: 
Bring  me  men  to  match  my  mountains  — 
Bring  me  men!" 

Such  men  came.  The  law  which  gave  them 
homes  conserved  to  us  a  mighty  land  love 
which  like  a  great  dynamo  drove  the  ploughs, 
built  the  towns  and  villages,  gave  stimulus  to 
the  railroads  and  later  brought  us  nationally 
to  reap  marvels  from  that  migration  to  which 
we  were  not  only  spiritually  but  practically 
sympathetic.  Those  who  went  to  the  land  in 
that  stream  which  "ripped  and  roared  across 
the  continent  in  record  time,"  gave  us  the 


RIPE   YEARS  £93 

soundest  value  in  citizenship,  for  the  man  upon 
the  land  best  retains  initiative;  he  escapes  from 
the  enmeshing  slavery  of  mechanical  industries. 
We  have  always  leaned  upon  the  immigrant, 
and  this  statute  has  been  a  boon  to  him.  The 
middle  class,  directly  benefited,  prospered  in 
ways  consistent  with  true  republican  ideals. 
The  Homestead  Act  was  one  which  laid  a 
wholesome  base  for  the  consolidation  of  men's 
force  and  therefore  for  our  social  superstruc 
ture. 

Socially  and  politically  this  wise  measure  has 
proved  a  flag-bearer  in  a  great  procession  of 
progressive  experiments  which  have  marked 
out  the  path  of  human  advance.  It  redeemed 
the  promise  of  the  radical  turn  of  the  genius 
of  the  new  Republic  which  distinguished  it 
from  the  conservative,  reasoned-rather-than- 
felt  action  of  Old-World  governments.  Based 
on  the  idea  that  the  people's  property  was 
best  handled  actually  as  private  property,  it 
entrenched  individual  rights  in  the  common 
lands.  Whether  or  no  the  ideal  of  social  wel 
fare  shall  change  in  regard  to  collectively 
owned  resources  in  land  and  the  institutions 
of  private  property  ultimately  become  decad 
ent,  the  law  stands  as  indubitably  the  best 


294  GALUSHA  A.  GROW 

expression  of  its  time,  admirably  suited  to  a 
social  need. 

Both  human  and  political  significance  of 
land  policy  may  be  somewhat  gauged  by  look 
ing  no  farther  than  Mexico,  our  nextdoor 
neighbor,  writhing  in  the  throes  of  a  war  waged 
because  statesmen  failed  to  administer  her 
domain  as  the  estate  of  the  people,  encourag 
ing  a  rank  upgrowth  of  oppressive  land  monop 
oly,  with  peonage  and  slavery  attendant.  They 
wrestle  with  the  soil  and  slavery  problems 
coincidentally.  We  fortunately  took  slavery 
alone  and  handled  the  land  problem  construc 
tively,  undoubtedly  saving  our  country  from 
grave  troubles  and  setting  the  world  an  exam 
ple  so  tempting  that  Great  Britain,  for  one, 
promptly  followed  suit  with  her  Dominion  Land 
Act  of  1872,  to  secure  the  settlement  of  Can 
ada  on  similar  terms. 

Galusha  Grow  was  a  vibrant  part  of  the 
heart  and  intelligence  of  a  great  time.  He 
helped  to  rouse  our  "  Northern  chivalry  to  re 
sistance  against  the  institutions  which  made 
merchandise  of  men."  He  directed  our  legis 
lative  procedure  through  two  years  of  inter 
necine  war.  With  resolution  and  vigor  he 
adhered  to  the  simple  fireside  idea,  the  fine 


RIPE  YEARS  295 

land  motif  he  received  in  his  boyhood.  With 
deep  passion  to  satisfy  a  fundamental  national 
need,  Grow,  a  great  agrarian,  persisted  until 
he  assured  to  us  our  beautiful  f  reef  oik-land, 
which  to-day  still  affords  hospitality  to  him 
who  feels  compelling  hearth -hunger.  "  The 
modest  but  firm  demeanor  he  showed  in  ex 
alted  places,  his  manly  endurance  of  political 
adversity,  the  contempt  he  displayed  against 
all  forms  of  political  immorality,"  and  the 
splendid  faith  in  the  purposes  which  sustained 
him  make  him  tower  above  the  aggregate.  We 
have  breathed  his  spirit  deeply  through  our 
whole  American  life. 


THE   END 


INDEX 


Adams,  John  C.,  67. 

Adams,  John  Quincy,  his  plan  for 
dealing  with  the  public  domain, 
57. 

Agriculture,  Department  of,  estab 
lished,  253. 

Aiken,  William,  beaten  by  Banks 
for  Speakership  of  34th  Con 
gress,  160-62. 

Alaska,  290. 

Albert,  Prince,  151,  152,  154. 

Albert,  Edward,  Prince  of  Wales 
(afterward  Edward  VII),  151. 

Alexander  II,  Czar,  268. 

Aliens,  under  Preemption  Act  of 
1841,  61,  62. 

Amherst  College,  G.'s  course  at, 
32  jf. 

Atchison,  David  R.,  137,  144. 

Averett,  Thomas  H.,  85,  86. 

Banks,     Nathaniel     P.,     elected 

Speaker  in  34th  Congress,  160- 

62;  163. 

Barker,  Wharton,  268. 
Barksdale,  William,  175. 
Bell,  John,  237. 
Benjamin,  Judah  P.,  229. 
Benton,  Thomas  H.,  57,  58,  59, 

61,  62,  79,  98,  99,  100,  101,  139, 

142. 
Bien,  Morris,  Land  System  of  the 

United  States,  53. 
Bigler,  William,  93. 
Birney,  J.  G.,  39. 
Elaine,  James  G.,  276,  277. 
Blair,  Francis  P.,  247,  248. 
Branch,  L.  O.,  231,  232,  233,  235. 


Breckinridge,  John  C.,  139,  140, 
201,  237. 

Brinckerhoff,  Jacob,  46. 

Brooks,  Preston  S.,  164. 

Brown,  Albert  G.,  88,  92. 

Buchanan,  James,  vetoes  public- 
land  bill  of  1860,  225,  226,  237, 
240;  149, 167, 172,  203,  210,  214, 
223. 

Bull  Run,  battle  of,  250,  251. 

Burchard,  Rev.  Samuel  D.,  277. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  230. 

Butler,  Benjamin  F.,  241,  251, 
252. 

Calhoun,  John  C.,  100,  113. 

Cameron,  Simon,  relations  of  G. 
with,  242-45,  264,  265. 

Campaign  ditties,  6. 

Campbell,  James,  138. 

Carnegie,  Andrew,  287,  288. 

Cass,  Lewis,  66,  120,  150. 

Chase,  Salmon  P.,  96,  121,  126, 
128,  130,  131. 

Choate,  Rufus,  40,  41. 

Clay,  Clement  C.,  122,  199. 

Clay,  Henry,  his  "American" 
plan,  57;  his  bill  providing  for 
division  among  the  States  of  net 
proceeds  of  sales  of  public  lands, 
vetoed  by  Jackson,  59;  39,  40, 
100,  142. 

"Clay  Brigade,"  241. 

Clay  Compromises  (1850),  72,  73. 

Clayton,  John  M.,  128. 

Cleveland,  Chauncey  F.,  43. 

Cobb,  Williamson  R.  W.,  his  bill 
for  graduation  and  reduction  of 


298 


INDEX 


prices  of  public  lands,  64,  104- 
106,  130,  131;  65,  102,  103, 107, 
109, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 132, 
161,  187. 

Colfax,  Schuyler,  224,  247. 
Congress,  Twenty-seventh:  House 
Censures  J.    R.  Giddings,  38. 

Thirtieth:  measures  relating 
to  public  domain  introduced  in, 
70. 

Thirty-second:  G.  the  young 
est  member  of,  70;  extends  wel 
come  to  Kossuth,  77-80;  G.'s 
maiden  speech  on  homestead 
question  in,  80  jF.;  House  de 
bates  and  passes  Johnson  bill, 
85-89. 

Thirty-third:  contest  between 
supporters  of  various  public- 
land  measures  in,  162jf.;  passes 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  with  re 
peal  of  Missouri  Compromise, 
140-45. 

Thirty-fourth :  membership  of 
House,  160;  fight  for  speaker- 
ship  of,  160-62. 

Thirty-fifth :  sectional  bitter 
ness  in,  169,  170;  debate  on 
Lecompton  Constitution  in, 
172  jf.;  homestead  question 
again  debated  in,  197  jf. 

Thirty-sixth :  House  passes 
G.'s  homestead  bill,  200;  205; 
debate  on  homestead  question 
in  Senate,  201-03,  205  /.; 
passes  compromise  bill,  which  is 
vetoed  by  Buchanan,  225,  226; 
short  session  of,  237-41;  passes 
proposed  pro-slavery  amend 
ment  to  Constitution,  238-41. 

Thirty-seventh :  membership 
of,  246,  247;  chosen  Speaker  at 
extra  session  of,  248;  review  of 
its  work,  249,  250,  253,  254; 
passes  Homestead  Act,  254  jf. 


Conkling,  Roscoe,  230,  247. 
Corwin,  Thomas,  235-38. 
Covode,  John,  174,  231. 
Cox,  Samuel  S.,  247. 
Creole,  case  of  the,  38. 
Crittenden,  John  J.,  229,  247. 
Cuba,    proposed    annexation    of, 

149,  150;  bill  for  purchase  of, 

201-03. 
Curtis,  George  William,  277. 

Davis,  Henry  Winter,  230. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  142,  219,  222, 
229,  239. 

Davis,  Reuben,  173,  175. 

Dawson,  John  L.,  his  bill  for  dis 
posal  of  public  lands,  106;  102, 
107, 108, 109, 110, 112, 113, 114, 
118. 

Delaware  and  Hudson  Canal, 
opening  of,  8. 

Democratic  Party,  "anti-expan 
sionist"  sentiment  in,  34,  35; 
attitude  of,  on  public-land  ques 
tions,  103  jf.,  111/.,  122  f.,  129, 
198;  the  split  in  1860,  237. 

Dixon,  Archibald,  124,  138,  140, 
144. 

Dodge,  Henry,  122,  128,  137. 

Doolittle,  James  R.,  202,  211,  212. 

Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  70,  75,  136, 
137,  138,  139,  140,  145,  218, 
219,  220,  237. 

Douglas-Toombs  Act,  166. 

Dred  Scott  decision,  212. 

Ellsworth,  Ephraim  E.,  241. 
Eugenie,  Empress,  152,  153,  154, 

155. 
Evans,  George  H.,  his  land-reform 

proposals,  50,  51. 

Farmers'  frontier,  the,  183  jf. 
Fenton,  Reuben  E.,  146,  230,  234, 
276,  277. 


INDEX 


299 


Fish,  Hamilton,  229. 

Foot,  Solomon,  146. 

Foote,  Henry  S.f  100. 

Foote,  Samuel  A.,  57. 

Franklin  Academy,  31,  32. 

Free-Soil  Party,  originally  a  seg 
ment  of  the  Democratic  Party, 
51;  platform  of,  65;  nominates 
Van  Buren  in  1848,  65;  home 
stead  plank  in  its  platform,  102. 

Freeman,  Daniel,  the  first  Home 
steader,  277,  278,  283-85. 

Gallup,  Kinney,  2. 

Galusha,  Jonas,  1. 

Garrison,  W.  L.,  mobbed  in  Bos 
ton,  34. 

General  Land  Office,  established 
in  1812,  53. 

Gene%  Edmond  Charles  ("Citi 
zen"),  4. 

George,  Henry,  Land  and  Labor 
51;  Land  and  Land  Policy,  190. 

Giddings,  Joshua  R.,  his  resolu 
tions  concerning  jurisdiction 
over  slavery,  38;  censured  by 
House,  38;  79,  95. 

Glenwood,  Pa.,  Grow  family  set 
tles  at,  12. 

Graduation  Act,  132,  133,  187, 
210,  261. 

Grant,  Ulysses  S.,  274. 

Greeley,  Horace,  his  homestead- 
ing  plan,  65,  66;  40,  147,  274. 

Green,  James  S.,  210. 

Grow,  Edwin,  2,  3,  8,  11,  12,  30. 

Grow,  Elizabeth  (Bobbins),  G.'s 
mother,  1,  2,  6,  7,  8,  10,  11,  13, 
14,  29,  30,  31,  271,  272,  273. 

Grow,  Elizabeth,  G.'s  sister,  2,  8, 
31. 

Grow,  Frederick,  2,  3,  14,  15,  16, 
17,  22,  25,  30,  31,  252,  272,  276. 

Grow,  Mrs.  Frederick,  252,  266, 
276. 


GROW,  GALUSHA  A. 

I.  Early  Years.  —  Birth,  1 ; 
whence  his  name,  1,  2;  on  his 
grandfather's  farm  at  Volun- 
town,  Conn.,  2,  3;  the  westward 
journey,  8-11;  farming  at  Glen- 
wood,  Pa.,  12;  "general  store" 
clerk,  15;  first  trading  trip,  15, 
16;  undertakes  to  sell  cargo  of 
lumber  for  Phelps  &  Bailey, 
17-21 ;  hisfirst  contactwith  slav 
ery,  and  his  prophecy,  21,  22, 
25;  visits  Mount  Vernon,  and 
Washington,  23-25;  first  seeds 
of  the  homestead  question,  29, 
37;  at  Franklin  Academy,  32; 
at  Amherst  College,  32/.;  39, 
40;  the  presidential  campaign  of 
1840,  34  jf.;  an  anti-expansion 
ist  Democrat,  34,  35;  his  first 
political  speech  (1844),  39; 
favors  election  of  Polk,  39. 

II.  The  Homestead  Question. 
—  Reads   law   in   Connecticut 
and  Pennsylvania,  and  is  ad 
mitted  to  the  bar,  43;   forms 
partnership  with    David   Wil- 
mot,  43;  quoted,  on  authorship 
of  Wilmot  Proviso,  44;  his  view 
of  proper  settlement  of  slavery 
issue,  46;  "land  the  first  sol 
vent,"  46, 47;  studies  early  legis 
lation  relating  to  the  public  do 
main,  51  jf.;  his  views  of  its 
proper   administration,   62-64; 
votes  for  Cass  in  1848,  66;  of 
fered    Democratic    nomination 
for  Congress  in  1850  as  com 
promise  candidate,  68;  accepts 
and  is  elected,  68,  69. 

III.  In     Congress.  —  The 
youngest  member  of  the  House, 
70;  still  convinced  of  paramount 
importance  of  public-land  ad 
ministration,  71, 74; regards  the 


300 


INDEX 


homestead  principle  as  the 
basis  of  the  correct  solution,  74, 
75;  his  defense  of  Kossuth,  and 
its  effect,  77,  78,  79;  his  maiden 
speech  on  the  homestead  ques 
tion,  80  f.;  maintains  the  in 
herent  rights  of  man  to  the  soil, 
83,  84;  his  views  attacked  and 
staunchly  defended,  85-87;  the 
Johnson  bill  passes  the  House, 
88,  89,  but  fails  in  the  Senate, 
89;  renominated  in  1852,  94;  in 
canvass,  opposes  agitation  of 
slavery  question,  95;  reelected, 
95;  his  friendships  in  the  new 
(32d)  Congress,  Love  joy,  Chase, 
Wade,  95,  96;  his  boarding- 
house  life  in  Washington,  97; 
his  close  friendship  with  T.  H. 
Benton,  99,  100,  101. 

IV.  The  Domain  as  a  Social 
Question.  —  Introduces          his 
Homestead  bill,  102;  a  complex 
situation,  102^".;  provisions  of 
his  bill,   106,    108;  debate  on 
Dawson's  bill,  108  jf.;  offers  his 
bill  as  substitute  for  Dawson's, 
114,  115,  and  is  beaten,  115; 
effect  on,  of  Cobb's  amendment 
of  Dawson  bill,  117;  seeks  in 
vain  to  amend  Cobb's  amend 
ment,  118,  119. 

V.  Repeal    of    the    Missouri 
Compromise,  and  its  results.  — 
Quoted  concerning  Douglas,  the 
Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  and  the 
Repeal,  138-40;  opposes  repeal, 
140-43;  quoted,  on  passage  of 
repeal  by  Senate,  143-45;  dis 
satisfied  with  the  Democratic 
party,  146;  attends  mass  meet 
ing  at  Jackson,  Mich.,  of  op 
ponents  of  expansion  of  slav 
ery,  147,  148;  the  Republican 
Party  born  at  that  meeting, 


148;  reelected  to  Congress  in 
1854,  148;  joins  Republicans  on 
Pierce's  approval  of  bill  for  re 
peal  of  Missouri  Compromise, 
148;  opposes  annexation  of 
Cuba,  150;  his  political  opin 
ions  finally  settled,  150;  visits 
Europe,  in  1855,  151-59;  Queen 
Victoria  in  Paris,  151,  152,  154; 
his  interview  with  Napoleon 
III  and  Eugenie,  153,  154;  his 
interest  in  the  struggle  for  free 
Kansas,  164;  his  bill  for  ad 
mission  of  Kansas  as  a  free 
state,  passes  House  but  is  tabled 
in  Senate,  165,  166;  attacks 
Douglas-Toombs  bill  for  paci 
fication  of  Kansas,  166,  167; 
answers  Buchanan,  167,  168; 
his  persistence  makes  him  ob 
noxious  to  rabid  slavery  men, 
168,  169;  his  personal  affray 
with  Keitt,  172-82. 

VI.  The  Homestead  Question 
in  1859-60.  —  His  interest  in 
the  organization  of  the  western 
domain,  183,  184;  reports  bills 
for  forming  additional  territo 
ries,  185,  186;  opposes  opera 
tions  of  speculators  in  public 
lands,  187,  190;  his  proposed 
remedies,  192-94;  his  persist 
ence  in  offensive  and  defen 
sive,  194,  195;  his  ideas  and 
Andrew  Johnson's  contrasted, 
195,  196;  his  Homestead  bill 
finally  passes  the  House,  199, 
200,  but  is  side-tracked  in  Sen 
ate,  201,  202;  quoted,  on  Wade 
and  Toombs,  202;  his  Home 
stead  bill  again  passes  the  House 
(1860),  204,  205;  long  debate 
on  it  and  rival  measures  in 
Senate  results  in  compromise 
bill,  205-22;  conference  com- 


INDEX 


301 


mittee's  report  gives  G.  "half 
a  loaf,"  222-25;  the  bill  vetoed 
by  Buchanan,  225,  226;  G.'s 
relations  with  prominent  men, 
229 /.;  his  opinion  of  Judah  P. 
Benjamin,  Toombs,  and  Jeffer 
son  Davis,  229,  230;  his  quarrel 
with  L.  O.  Branch,  231-35;  his 
judgment  of  Thomas  Corwin, 
235,  236;  supports  compromise 
scheme  in  February,  1861,  239; 
joins  "Clay  Brigade"  to  pro 
tect  Washington,  241 ;  his  strong 
letter  to  Secretary  Cameron, 
243,  244,  which  was  resented, 
245. 

VII.  Speaker.    —   Chosen 
Speaker  at  extraordinary  ses 
sion  of  37th  Congress,  248,  249; 
asks  Butler  to  appoint  him  to 
his  staff,   251;   Butler's  reply, 
251,  252;  helps  to  create  De 
partment  of  Agriculture,  253; 
favors    Pacific    Railroad    and 
Telegraph  law,  254;  his  Home 
stead  bill  introduced  by  Love- 
joy,  without  proper  authoriza 
tion  by  committee,  256,   257; 
urges  passage  of  similar  Potter 
bill,    257,    258,    which,    with 
amendments,    finally    becomes 
law,  259-61 ;  the  act  signed  by 
him  as  Speaker,  261 ;  quoted,  on 
Lincoln's  character,   263,   264, 
267,    268;    approves    Seward's 
handling  of  Trent  affair,  264; 
relations   with   Cameron,   264, 
265;    defeated    for    reelection, 
265;  quoted,  on  John  Hay,  266, 
267;  quoted,  on  the  visit  of  the 
Russian  fleet  in  1863,  268;  his 
course  as  Speaker  commended, 
269,    270;    his    extraordinary 
career,  270. 

VIII.  In  retirement;  again  in 


Congress;  last  years.  —  Family 
affairs,  271-73;  various  business 
enterprises,  273;  railroad  pres 
ident,  273,  274;  his  attitude  in 
1872,  274;  at  odds  with  Repub 
lican  "organization"  in  Penn., 
274;  declines  Russian  mission, 
274,  275;  candidate  for  Senate, 
but  defeated,  275;  in  1884,  ad 
vises  Blaine  against  acceptance 
of  dinner  in  New  York,  at  which 
Burchard  episode  occurred, 
276,  277;  continues  to  be  re 
membered  as  father  of  the 
Homestead  Act,  277,  278,  279; 
letter  from  Daniel  Freeman,  the 
first  Homesteader,  277;  his  por 
trait  presented  to  House  of 
Representatives,  278,  279;  re- 
elected  to  House  in  1894,  279, 
280,  and  for  three  succeeding 
terms,  280;  his  service  in  the 
House,  280-82;  again  upholds 
the  homestead  policy,  281,  282; 
the  "Grow  Welcome  Home," 
282-87;  interview  with  the  first 
Homesteader,  283;  letter  from 
Hay,  286;  relations  with  A.  Car 
negie,  287,  288;  his  death,  289; 
review  of  his  service  in  the  cause 
of  free  homesteads,  289  Jf. 

Grow,  Joseph,  G.'s  father,  1,  2. 

Grow,  Julia,  2.  See  Kinney,  Mrs. 
Julia  (Grow). 

Grow,  Samuel,  2,  30,  271,  272. 

Grow,  Thomas,  2. 

Hale,  John  P.,  149,  150,  198. 
Hall,  Willard  P.,  136. 
Hamilton,  Alexander,  53,  90. 
Hampshire  Gazette,  39. 
Harlan,  James,  222,  229. 
Harrison,  William  Henry,  34,  35, 

36. 
Hartranft,  John  F.,  274. 


302 


INDEX 


Hay,  John,  266,  267,  285,  286. 

Hayes,  Rutherford  B.,  274. 

Hayne,  Robert  Y.,  58. 

Hickman,  John,  173,  248. 

Hitchcock,  Edward,  professor  at 
Amherst,  33. 

Hitt,  Robert  R.,  281. 

Holman,  William  S.,  248,  279, 281. 

Holmes,  O.  W.,  177. 

Homestead  Act,  passed  by  37th 
Congress,  254  /. 

Homestead  principle,  basis  of  G.'s 
theory  of  public-land  develop 
ment,  74, 75;  relation  of  political 
parties  to,  214,  215.  And  see 
Public  domain. 

Homestead  question,  first  stirrings 
of,  in  G.'s  mind,  29;  complex 
situation  of,  in  33d  Congress, 
102  Jf.  And  see  Public  domain. 

Houston,  Sam,  70,  229. 

Hunter,  Robert  M.  T.,  130,  132, 
261. 

Immigration,  in  mid-1 9th  century, 
50;  progress  of,  before  and  after 
1820,  56. 

Jackson,  Mich.,  mass  meeting  at 
(1854),  gives  birth  to  Republi 
can  Party,  147,  148. 

Jackson,  Andrew,  vetoes  Clay's 
bill  of  1832, 59;  his  theory  of  the 
public  domain,  59;  his  "specie 
order"  and  its  effect,  60;  35, 100. 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  84. 

Johnson,  Andrew,  his  free  home 
stead  resolution,  51;  provisions 
of  his  homestead  bill,  75,  76;  his 
character  and  career,  76,  77;  in 
Senate,  195-98,  his  activities  as 
a  Senator  in  public-land  mat 
ters,  200,  201,  205/.,  213,  214; 
83,  89,  98,  110,  216,  217,  220, 
222,  223,  224,  227.  255. 


Johnson,  Robert  W.,  85, 139,  215, 
216,  217,  219,  222,  223,  225,  227. 
Jones,  James  C.,  109,  145. 

Kansas,  attempts  to  secure  terri 
torial  government  for,  136,  137; 
fight  for  possession  of,  between 
slavery  and  anti-slavery  parties, 
164 /.;  subject  of  bitter  debates 
in  35th  Congress,  172  /.; 
Lecompton  Constitution,  172. 
See  Kansas-Nebraska  Act. 

Kansas-Nebraska  bill,  provides  for 
repeal  of  Missouri  Compromise, 
138. 

Keitt,  Lawrence  M.,  G.'s  quarrel 
with,  173 /.;  110,  115,  164, 165, 
171. 

Kelley,  William  D.,  247. 

King,  William  A.,  80. 

Kinney,  Mrs.  Julia  (Grow),  7,  8, 
11. 

Kinney,  Orrin  S.,  7,  11. 

Kittredge,  George  W.,  144. 

Know-Nothing  Party,  opposed  to 
Homestead  Act,  123,  124;  47. 

Kossuth,  Louis,  debate  on  extend 
ing  welcome  of  Congress  to, 
77-80. 

Land,  the  great  solvent  of  the 

question  of  slavery,  46  ff. 
Land  Act,  general,  of  1796,  53,  54. 
Land  Act  of  1847,  repeal  of,  63. 
Liberty  Party,  nominates  Birney 

for  president  in  1844,  39. 
Liberty  poles,  3-6. 
Lilly,  William,  279. 
Lincoln,  Abraham,  148,  236,  237, 

239,  241,  242,  246,  261,  263,  264, 

266,  267. 

Logan,  John  A.,  230,  247. 
Lothrop,  Thornton  K.,  140. 
Louisiana  Purchase,  54,  55. 
Lovejoy,  Elijah,  35. 


INDEX 


303 


Lovejoy,  Owen,  95,  96,  170,  204, 

223,  230,  253,  256,  257. 
Lowry,  James,  66,  67,  68. 

McClernand,  John  A.,  64. 
McConnell,  Felix  G.,  199. 
McDowell,  Irvin  S.,  250. , 
McMullen,  Fayette,  78,  85. 
Mallory,  Stephen  R.,  229. 
Marcy,  William  L.,  140. 
Mason,  George,  152,  153,  154. 
Mason,  James  M.,  212,  214,  220. 
Maynard,  Horace,  231. 
Mexico,  294. 
Miles,  Nelson  A.,  289. 
Milliken,  Seth  L.,  279. 
Millson,  John  S.,  85,  86,  111. 
Missouri  Compromise,   134,   135, 

137,  138. 
Missouri  Compromise,  repeal  of, 

proposed  in  Kansas-Nebraska 

bill,   138;   debate  on,   140  /.; 

passes  both  Houses,  143-45. 
Montrose  Volunteer,  the,  13. 
Morgan,  E.  D.,  151. 
Merrill,  Justin  S.,  231,  247. 
Mott,  Richard,  174. 

Napoleon  III,  152,  153,  154. 
Newton,  Samuel,  7,  11. 
Nicholas  II,  Czar,  289. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  53. 
Orr,  James  L.,  169,  174. 
Ostend  Conference,  203. 

Pacific  Railroad  bill,  89,  254. 
Pendleton,  George  H.,  247. 
Perry,  Oliver  H.,  158. 
Philadelphia,  anti-slavery  women 

mobbed  in,  35. 
Phillips,  Philip,  139,  140. 
Piatt,  Donn,  154. 
Pierce,  Franklin,  93.  95,  134, 139, 

140,  148. 


Polk,  James  K.,  39. 

Port  Deposit,  15,  16. 

Potter,  John  F.,  170,  171,  175, 
234,  256,  257. 

Preemption  Act  of  1840,  60,  re 
pealed  in  1841,  61;  principle  of, 
defended  by  Benton,  61 ;  Act  of 
1841  makes  land  available  for 
aliens,  61,  62. 

Pringle,  B.,  151. 

Pry  or,  Roger  A.,  170,  171. 

Public  domain,  extent  of,  after 
acquisitions  of  territory  from 
Mexico,  etc.,  48,  49;  summary 
review  of  legislation  relating  to, 
51  ff.\  early  laws  relating  to  sale 
of,  after  Louisiana  Purchase, 
56;  great  controversy  concern 
ing  policy  of  dealing  with,  be 
gins  in  1830,  57,  58;  Clay's  bill 
of  1832,  59;  Jackson's  theory  of, 
59,  60;  his  "specie  order,"  60; 
looked  to,  by  States,  to  relieve 
financial  difficulties,  60;  Pre 
emption  Act  of  1841  makes 
available  for  certain  aliens,  61, 
62;  repeal  of  Land  Act  of  1847, 
63;  various  plans  for  dealing 
with,  64;  agitation  concerning, 
a  powerful  factor  in  politics  in 
1848,  65;  Greeley's  plan,  65,  66; 
measures  relating  to,  introduced 
in  31st  Congress,  70;  state  of 
question  when  G.  entered  Con 
gress,  70  jf.;  question  of  slavery 
inextricably  involved  with,  72, 
73;  A.  Johnson's  homestead 
bill,  75,  76;  G.'s  "maiden 
speech"  on  distribution  of, 
80  Jf.;  Johnson  bill  debated  and 
passed  in  House,  85-89;  the 
Cobb  bill  for  disposal  of,  104/.; 
the  Dawson  bill,  106;  the  Grow 
bill,  106, 107;  the  rival  measures 
debated  in  the  House,  108  jf.; 


304 


INDEX 


and  in  the  Senate,  120/.;  oper 
ations  of  speculators  in,  187  jf.; 
rebellion  of  preeinptors,  188; 
extraordinary  condition  in  re 
spect  to,  191;  G.'s  Homestead 
bill  reintroduced  in  House  in 
1856,  and  later  years,  193,  194; 
A.  Johnson's  renewed  activities 
concerning,  195  ff.;  G.'s  Home 
stead  bill  passes  House  (1860), 
200;  debates  on,  in  36th  Con 
gress,  204  ff. ;  compromise  bill  is 
vetoed  by  Buchanan,  225,  226; 
Homestead  Act  passed  by  37th 
Congress,  254  ff.;  summary  of 
entries,  etc.,  under  Act  of  1862, 
289-91. 

Pugh,  George  E.,  207,  208,  215. 

Punch,  quoted,  177-81. 

Quay,  Matthew  S.,  279. 
Quitman,  John  A.,  173,  175. 

Randall,  Samuel  J.,  279. 

"Redemptioners,"  55. 

Reed,  Thomas  B.,  280. 

Republican  Party,  "seminal  be 
ginning  "of,  146;  born  at  mass 
meeting  at  Jackson,  Mich.,  147, 
148;  wins  Speakership  in  34th 
Congress,  160-62. 

Richardson,  William,  32. 

Riddle,  A.  G.,  quoted,  253. 

Robbins,  Samuel,  G.'s  grand 
father,  2,  3,  7,  14. 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  285. 

Russian  fleet,  visit  of,  to  U.S.,  268. 

Saunders,  Romulus  W.,  149. 

Schurz,  Carl,  277. 

Semple,  Ellen  C.,  American  His 
tory  and  its  Geographical  Con 
ditions,  48. 

Settlers  on  public  lands,  early  ap 
peal  of,  to  G.,  28,  29. 


Seward,  William  H.,  70,  80,  123, 
124,  125,  128,  131,  140,  143, 
149,  264. 

Sherman,  John,  169,  231. 

Slavery,  violent  proceedings  of 
sympathizers  with,  in  the 
North,  34,  35;  case  of  the  Creole, 
38;  G.'s  and  Wilmot's  views  of, 
contrasted,  46,  47;  question  of, 
inextricably  involved  in  ques 
tion  of  occupation  of  public 
lands,  72,  73;  under  the  Mis 
souri  Compromise,  134,  135; 
attempted  compromise  with,  in 
Feb.-March,  1861,  238-40.  And 
see  Kansas. 

Slidell,  John,  138,  139,  202. 

Smith,  Adam,  84. 

South,  cause  of  opposition  of,  to 
increasing  number  of  small 
farms,  72,  73;  general  attitude 
of,  on  public-land  question  in 
its  various  phases,  104 /.,  Ill, 
117,  122/.,  198,  199. 

Speakership  of  National  House, 
269,  270. 

Spinner,  F.  E.,  230. 

States'  rights,  obtrusion  of  prin 
ciple  of,  in  settlement  of  public 
lands  question,  205 /.,  217;  ef- 
fecton,  of  Buchanan's  veto,  227. 

Stephens,  Alexander  H.,  86,  87, 
165,  172,  203. 

Stevens,  Thaddeus,  230,  231,  247, 
248. 

Streeter,  F.  B.,  43. 

Sumner,  Charles,  149,  164,  165, 
229. 

Susquehanna  River,  15,  16. 

Swamp  Lands  Act,  86. 

Territories,  opposition  to  further 

formation  of,  186. 
Texas,  annexation  of,  39. 
Thayer,  Eli,  186. 


INDEX 


305 


Thomas,  James  H.,  223. 
Tocqueville,  Alexis  de,  48. 
Toombs,  Robert,  202,  229. 
Trent  affair,  the,  264. 
Trumbull,  Lyman,  234. 
Tuck,  Amos,  148. 
Tyler,  John,  36,  39. 
Tyler,   William   S.,   professor  at 
Amherst,  32. 

Van  Buren,  John,  68. 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  Free-Soil 
presidential  candidate  in  1848, 
65,  66;  16,  24,  34,  35,  36. 

Victoria,  Princess  Royal,  151, 152. 

Victoria,  Queen,  151,  152,  154. 

Vinton,  Samuel  P.,  46. 

Voluntown,  Conn.,  2,  3,  4. 

Voorhees,  Daniel  W.,  247. 

Wade,  Benjamin  F.,  79,  96,  97, 
128, 129, 149,  201,  202,  206,  207, 
208,  216,  220,  221,  227,  234, 
260. 

Walker,  Robert  J.,  192. 


Washburn,  Cadwallader  C.,  175. 
Washburne,  Elihu  B.,  151,    153, 

154,  161,  175,  230,  257. 
Washington,  George,  4. 
Webster,  Daniel,  40,  41,  58,  70, 

80,  100. 
West,  the,  in  the  eighteen-forties, 

47-50. 

Whaley,  K.  V.,  230. 
Wheeler,  William  A.,  247. 
Whig  Party,  in  1840,  35,  36. 
Whitfield,  John  W.,  164. 
Wilcox,  John  A.,  92. 
Wilkes,  Charles,  264. 
Wilmot,  David,  G.'s  law  partner, 

43,  44;  described  by  G.,  44,  45; 

the  Wilmot  Proviso,  45,  46;  his 

view  of  slavery  question,  46; 

66,  67,  68,  93,  94,  149. 
Wilmot  Proviso,  45;  who  was  its 

author?  45,  46. 
Wilson,    Woodrow,    quoted,    74, 

134,  135. 

Windom,  William,  247. 
Winslow,  Warren,  233. 


fttontfibe 

CAMBRIDGE  .  MASSACHUSETTS 
U   .   S   .  A 


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